Fox Child
by Dream Fox
Summary: The experiences of Kurama as he grows up as a human boy. How he struggles with powers he can't control and his feeling of isolation from the rest of humanity 21th chap, more to come UPDATE!
1. Lack of Control

Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own YYH or any of its characters, or else this wouldn't be a fanfic, now would it?

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"Mother!" the young boy called down the stairs. "I can't find my dark blue uniform!"

"It's in the wash, Shuichi dear! Pick something else to wear!" she yelled back at the boy, who was making loud thumping noises up and down the stairs.

"Aw, Mom!" he moaned. "I wanted to wear it for my first day at my new school! I told you last night, remember?"

"Well, then you should have taken it out of the laundry basket," she yelled back.

"Okay, okay," he sighed. "I'll just wear my red one then."

She smiled to herself as she stirred the rice twice before lifting the steaming pot to put some in a bowl. 'How odd Shuichi is,' she thought to herself. 'Sometimes he acts just like a normal seven year old boy.' Then her smile dropped into a frown. 'But sometimes he acts odd. Like old and maybe a little mean. Cruel, even.'

"Is the rice done?" he asked, turning up behind her.

She smiled again, even though he couldn't see it with her back facing him. " Yes, Love," she told him. "Just take that bowl."

"Thank you, mother," he said as he picked up the bowl of hot rice, standing up on his tiptoes to kiss his mother's cheek.

He sat down at the small table in their little kitchen, shoving mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. "Slow down and eat a full meal," his mother told him strictly, turning around and wiping her hands on a towel.

"I want to get to school early," he told her, ignoring her advice.

She smiled down at him. 'He really is a good boy, she thought to herself. Even if he is a little odd.'

Already at the age of seven, Shuichi looked nothing like any of his relatives. With his fiery red hair and bright green eyes, he stood out in all crowds, making him look like a foreigner, rather then the native Japan boy he was. He seemed to have an odd personality, with a quick changing temper and a quiet demure. The lady sighed to herself, thinking how hard it was for her young boy to fit in, not to mention the resent death of his father.

 "Okay, Mom," he told her through a mouthful of food. "Thank you for breakfast!" He jumped up from the table and ran up the stairs to grab his school bag.

"Did you grab your lunch?" she asked him as he hopped back down the stairs again two by two.

"Yes, yes," he told her quickly, slipping on his shoes.

"And you know your way?"

"Yes, don't worry so much. You've only told me three hundred times," he said sarcastically.

"Well," she smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "You have a nice day at your new school."

The cheerful boy smiled up at her. "I will," he told her confidently.

He hopped down the two steps and closed the sliding door behind him. He dashed down their new house garden and onto the sidewalk. Glancing back at the door, he sighed once in relief to himself. Then, he started in a brisk walk down the street to his new school.

'Sometimes it's so hard having a mother,' he thought to himself. 'Particularly a human one. They always seemed to fuss over you when you were perfectly fine. I'm a six hundred year old demon,' he thought to himself. 'I don't need someone to remind me to brush my teeth every morning.'

'But all the same,' he thought, making himself smile a bit. 'I really do love her. It's a nice feeling, having someone love you, no strings attached. I am was used to being used, not loved unconditionally.'

'And I love her truly,' he realized to his surprise. 'I would give my life for her if I had to. I like the feeling that I have someone to protect, that I'm not alone anymore.'

'It's interesting,' he thought to himself. 'I became human out of purely selfish reasons, and here I am realizing I love something so unconditionally, I would do anything for it and a human woman, no less. I didn't know I had it in me.' He chuckled slightly to himself, turning the corner to his new school.

The school was big, but a normal one. Because it's students ranged from six to thirteen, it was large. It was a combination of blue, black, and white coloring and the students outside had several different color uniforms on, although all with the same basic style. 'Humans are so odd,' he thought to himself with another small laugh. 'They are already oppressing their children to be exactly like all the other human students their age.'

"Hey, Pee-wee," a voice said from behind Kurama. "What's so funny? Do you care to share the joke with us?"

The boy turned around to find a small group five or six boys behind him. They ranged from about ages ten to thirteen, all with green uniforms and greased back hair. 'These boys look like they're looking for trouble,' Kurama thought to himself. 'I'd better watch myself.'

"That's alright, Senpai," he told the boy with dark brown hair who spoke to him. "I'm not sure you would understand it."

Something seemed to click in the boy's eyes. "Not understand it?" he repeated, as if asking if Kurama had actually said that. "Do you think I'm too dumb to understand it?"

'Uh oh,' Kurama said to himself. "N-n-no," he told the older boy who took a step closer. "That's not it at all."

"Oh, it isn't, is it?" he asked sharply. Then, he suddenly grabbed the front of Kurama's shirt. "Look, boy, we don't like foreigners here."

"Well, that's okay," Kurama stuttered, waving his hands. 'Because, you see I'm not-,"

"Do you think we should teach the foreigner a lesson, Borno?" he asked the thin, black haired boy behind him.

The black haired boy chuckled cruelly. "Yes, Boss," he told the lead boy. "Let's."

Suddenly, something seemed to click inside Kurama. He was under attack. His body seemed to be almost programmed to react certain ways. He totally forgot who he was and why he was there. All he knew, was fight or die. Those were the rules he lived by. His mind became blank and he lost control. He became a killing machine.

When at last the odd boy came to and remembered again, he was standing on the sidewalk by his school. Everywhere he looked, there was so much blood. It lay on the cement, on his red uniform, and in his blood red hair. The bodies of the boys lay on the ground, each surrounded in a pool of blood. He felt his knees become weak beneath him. The other students were terrified, but not half as much as him. Because Kurama knew what really happened. He lost control. And when the boy lost control, HE came out. And whenever he came out, everything around him seemed to die.

He felt his hands start to shake and his eyes become blurry. As the boy slowly fell to the ground, the last thing he heard was the horrifying shout of a girl. "Call the teacher! That boy's a monster!"

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Hello, fans of YYH!

This is Dream Fox here with the first chapter to my new story "Fox Child," a story about the childhood of Kurama.

To be perfectly honest, I have a horrible memory and I'm really too lazy to look up everything, so not everything will fit the anime perfectly. Some things will not totally fit together perfectly, but just go with the flow people. It'd like it if people tell me when I do something wrong from the anime though. Like his mother's name? What the heck is it?

Because I watch the anime more then I read the manga (because not many are in English yet), it will be more anime based. I apologize if that isn't what you want, but there is really nothing I can do.

Last, this is actually my second fanfic. My first one is an Inu-yasha one. Can't you tell I love those Dog/wolf/fox (or to sum it up, canis) demons?  So if you guys like Inu-yasha, please read that story too! I already have eight chapters up, with my ninth up in just a few days. Yeah!

I think that just about sums it up! Please read, and defiantly review, so I know what you guys think!

Dream Fox


	2. Into the Hell Pit

Disclaimer: Need I say it? We've heard it a million times already…

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He always remembered his humiliation when his mother was asked to come to his new school's principal office. He stood waiting on a bench outside, swinging his small legs back and forth… back and forth.

He kept his head bent down, his hair covering his face so no one could see his expression. The boy felt a complete mixture of terror and disgrace. Had anyone else been able to see his face, they would have thought his embarrassment was the cause of beating up other children. But that wasn't it. That wasn't it at all.

Not that he liked beating up other children or that he thought the bullies deserved it. They had been mean, but not THAT mean. Not mean enough to send one boy to the hospital in an emergency ambulance. Not mean enough to break five of one child's bones, and at least two of all the other's.

But still, it wasn't that he was ashamed of. It was his lack of control. He never seemed to be able to keep his demon self in check. If he got in the slightest bit of trouble, or the slightest bit angry, his demon half would break out. And he didn't like that. It never left any nice presents, only messes to fix up.

He sighed dramatically. 'Mother won't be happy,' he thought to himself. 'She never is. She looks at me as if I'm some kind of demon, which I am I suppose. But it still hurts so much. It's like her eyes are asking me, "are you really my son?" and she feels so ashamed.'

"Shuichi?" a soft voice asked, with a light touch on his shoulder. He jumped up in his seat, finding it was only his mother. 'I'll never get used to people being able to sneak up on me like that.'

"Mrs. Minamino?" the secretary called from the desk. "Mr. Toro will see you now."

His mother sighed and got to her feet. She smiled kindly at Kurama as she helped him up from the chair. "Come on, Love," she told the boy. "It will be okay. You'll see." But Kurama knew that it wouldn't. He was marked. Branded even. This experience would stick with him throughout the rest of his school life and he would forever be cast out from the school's "pack," so to speak. He sighed again, but got up to join his mother in the principal's office.

The principal's office was small, with paper's neatly piled on his desk and everything arranged to perfection. Mr. Toro himself was a large man, with a brown business suit on and dark, slicked black hair. He looked incredibly stern and when he saw Kurama, frowned. Kurama tried to hide behind his mother.

"Please," the man said in a deep voice. "Sit down, both of you." They both took a seat on the two large, green easy chairs in front of his desk. He look sternly at Kurama for a moment, then continued. "I hear Shuichi has been fighting, and on his first day of school, no less."

"Please, Sir," his mother put in. "I'm sure it was an accident."

The Mr. Toro scoffed. "Ma'am," he said, turning toward her. "That was no accident. One student was nearly killed. All of them had to be taken to the hospital." 

Kurama's mother looked over at her son, shocked that he could do such a thing. All Kurama wanted to do was sink deeper into his chair.

"I take it your son is in Martial Arts? You might want to take him out. It appears he is excessively violent, which can only lead to problems in this school."

"Why no," Mrs. Minamino told the principle, startled. "Shuichi has never been in Martial Arts, or any other form of fighting I didn't even know he could fight."

"What?" the principal asked, this time it was he surprised. "That's not possible. Your son beat up five upperclassmen single handedly."

"Shuichi?" his mother asked, looking over at Kurama, startled. "How were you able to defeat these children?"

"Dunno," he said in his best childlike manor, shrugging ruefully. "Animal instinct?" he tried to joke, although it was more true then either of the adults could guess.

They both starred at him seriously. His mother gave him the look he hated so much. The small smile that he tried to make quickly flew from his face and once again he did his best to blend in with the green chair.

"Please," he mother said, turning to the principal and raising her voice pleadingly. "Shuichi's father died just a few months ago, and going to a new school and all…" her voice trailed off.

Mr. Toro sighed dramatically. "Very well," he told the two of them. "If Shuichi agrees to avoid any more fights and promises to behave, I don't see the harm of letting it go just this once." Then he bent down and looked hard into Kurama's face, as if looking for sometime. Kurama tried to hide his face behind his red hair. "But, Shuichi. I'm warning you right now, I'll have no tolerance for violence while you're in this school. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Kurama murmured.

"Then you may go to your class." Then turning to Mrs. Minamino, said, "thanking for coming down here today, and I apologize for taking time out of your busy schedule."

"Oh, that's okay," she said, smiling politely. "And I'm sorry for all the trouble Shuichi has caused. I'm sure he is too, aren't you Shuichi?" she asked nudging him a little in the back as the stood up.

"Very sorry," he said quietly as he walked out the door.

His mother followed him out, closing the door behind them. She sighed as she did so. Then she looked down at little Kurama looking up at her. She studied him for a moment, then shook her head slightly, "really, Shuichi. I don't think I'll ever understand how your minds works."

Kurama looked up at her worriedly. Then she smiled down at him. "But I love you that way." He gave her a slight smile and she told him with a pat on the head, "run along to class now and have fun."

He trotted off down the long blue tiled hall, stopped and looked back to make sure she was still okay, then trotted on.

'That turned out okay,' he thought as he walked down the hall to his new classroom. 'I expected much worse. I'll still have a horrible reputation, but at least mother isn't as upset as I expected.'

When he at last reached the door to his new classroom, he stopped for a moment outside to study it. It was simple, just a bluish color with white trimming. On the outside the room number was painted, but aside from a pink paper down the hall from some school event or another.

He took a deep breath, then knocked twice on the door. 'It's the moment of truth,' he thought as he listened to the sound of footsteps approach the doorway.

The door opened and in the doorway stood his new teacher.

She was young as far as teachers go, with a pair of silver glasses and light brown hair piled up in a messy bun on the top of her head.

She looked down at little Kurama for a minute, then smiled at him. "Ah, you must be Shuichi. My name is Mrs. Kade. Please come in."

"Class," Mrs. Kade announced to the rest of the class as Kurama took a tentative step forward. "This is your new classmate, Shuichi Minamino."

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Hello everyone!

Dream fox here again (naturally; I AM the author after all. Who were you expecting? Hiei?) to tell you what's happening!

So far I haven't gotten a single review for my story, but it's only been online for a couple of hours, so I'm not too disappointed. I just hope I get at least ONE before I put this one up.

Of course, I'm used to getting a fair amount of reviews for my Inu-yasha, so I guess I'll just have to get used to rejection (ah, the burden of being unpopular… *sigh*).

I'm really excited about this new story, so there will probably be a new chapter up within a day or two, so stay tuned!

Don't forget to read my Inu-yasha story! There should be a chapter up today, but by the latest, tomorrow!

I have to end it here because my eyes are getting to blurry from sleepiness, it's becoming hard to see!

Love and Kisses fans and sleep tight!

Dream Fox


	3. Out of the Pan and into the Fire

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. We've all heard it before.

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"Class," Mrs. Kade announced to the rest of the class as Kurama took a tentative step forward. "This is your new classmate, Shuichi Minamino."

Kurama stepped into the brightly lit classroom. The room was a medium size with about twenty or so students. Most of them had dark colored hair, and it was impossible to tell their height, for they were all sitting at small, brown desks.

When he entered, a few of the students gasped in surprise and made whispered comments behind their hands. With his acute hearing, Kurama was able to make out a couple of the comments.

"Wow! Isn't he the guy who beat up Usho and boys?" one boy whispered to his friend.

"Yeah," the other boy whispered back. "He's supposed to be like, brutally strong, or something."

"You know Mana from class 1-C?" one girl asked the girl sitting next to her. At the girls nod, she told her, "well, Mana saw the whole thing! She said that, like, the entire time he was fighting Usho, he was totally calm. Like ice. He didn't even wince at the blood or anything."

Another girl from behind her leaned forward to join their conversation. "Yeah, but afterwards, I heard that he was acting really weird or something. People say he was like two totally different people."

A girl in the back row leaned over to her friend next to her and whispered behind her hand, "well, he may be brutally strong, but I think he's really cute!" This made Kurama blush furiously.

"Well, Shuichi," the teacher said, smiling down at Kurama. "Would you like to tell the class anything about yourself?"

Kurama looked around the class a little as all the students became quiet to listen. "Um-m-m," he stuttered nervously. 'What can I say that will get these other children to have a better impression of me?' he thought to himself.

"Just say it already!" yelled one of the boys from the back of the room.

"Shh!" the girl next to him hushed. "Do you want him to beat you up too?" The boy immediately sobered up.

"Um, my name is Shuichi Minamino," he said quietly, still a little nervous. When someone groaned, annoyed, Kurama blurted out, "I like to garden!"

"What?!?!" one of the girls broke out laughing. Turning to the boy next to her, she asked humorously, "Are you sure this is the boy who got Usho?"

Mrs. Kade, taking pity on Kurama, told him kindly, "That's very interesting. Why don't you have a seat there in the back row?" Kurama nodded.

When he passed, he got a mixture of looks from the students. Some looked afraid still, and some looked like they were going to burst out laughing at any moment. Not one looked sympathetic. Kurama kept his head down as he took his seat in the back row.

"Well, class," Mrs. Kade told them. "Less begin our math lesson for the day. Take out your textbooks and flip to page…."

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When lunchtime came, no one made any effort to befriend the poor demon gone human. He sat by himself in his corner desk, silently eating his lunch. 

The other children looked over at him once in a while, laughing and giggling with each other. Kurama had a feeling it was him they were laughing. He just kept his head hunched down, trying to be as invisible as possible.

It was hard to think about anything else aside from the other kids and the fact he was being treated like a fool, but he was finally able to concentrate on something else. Something he needed to figure out how to control, and fast. He needed to find a way to keep his demon self inside.

'I know it's about my lack of control,' he thought to himself. 'I need to learn how to control my anger and fear. It seems that those are the two emotions that let him come forth.'

'I need to learn meditation or something like that,' he realized, leaning back in his chair. 'If I could learn how to train my mind to remain calm, it should be no problem.'

'Maybe I should join a martial arts class,' he thought wonderingly. 'I know they stress control there, so I should be able to learn to keep my true self inside. Mr. Toto didn't want me to be in a martial arts class, but I'm not violent because of it. It would really help me.'

'That's it!' he realized, hitting his fist on the palm of his hand. 'I can say it will help me get my anger out. Mother might not believe me, but Mr. Toto certainly will.' And with that it was decided. He would go to Mr. Toto this very afternoon and ask.

Suddenly, a touch on his shoulder jolted him out of his thoughts. "Excuse me?" a soft voice asked.

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Hey peeps!

Dream fox back with my new chapter. Actually I'm not horribly fond of this chapter. It's just kind of a connecting chapter to the next couple of chapters, which should be much better (I hope…).

My fellow YYH crazed fan, Lugiamania, asked me why isn't Hiei in here and when will he be included? Actually, Kurama doesn't meet Hiei until just before the anime series meets him. It says so when you first meet Yoko Kurama in his true form. I might include him in later chapters though, if he fits in.

Thank you for the grammatical corrections and the name of his mother. Actually with the whole, "principal" and "principle" thing, I thought I might be wrong, but I was to lazy to check.

And Usho is not Yusuke, as you find out in this story. Actually, Yusuke probably won't enter this story at all, because I don't want to change the anime story at all, just add onto it.

I think that's it….

Dream Fox 


	4. Fighting a Losing Battle

Disclaimer: Ya da ya da…

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Kurama looked up startled. It was a girl from his class, with long black hair and two deep, brown eyes. She was actually very pretty, but Kurama had seen her sitting alone before in the back of the class in the far corner.

"Yeah?" he asked her, turning his bright green eyes up to her face.

She blushed a little. "May I sit here?" she asked, stuttering slightly, indicating to the chair opposite of him.

At first Kurama was a little surprised by the request. 'Someone's asking for permission to sit next to me?' he thought, surprised. 'Asking to?'

"Yeah, sure!" he replied enthusiastically.

The girl, seemingly encouraged by his happiness, blushed again and sat down, setting her lunch in front of her. She looked up at him shyly. "My names Loriko," she told him.

"And my name's Shuichi," he told her happily.

"Where did you come from, Shuichi?" she asked him, taking a bite of food from her pink chopsticks.

"I just moved here from Tokyo last week," he told her, taking a bite himself. "My mom and I live just up the street."

"I went to Tokyo once," Loriko told him. "It was really loud and crowded."

"You probably went to the center of Tokyo," he told her. "I lived on the outskirts, where there aren't as many people."

"Why did you move?" she asked him.

His friendly smile weakened. "My dad died a few months ago," he told her. "My mom wanted to get out of that house. She wanted to start a new life." He shrugged. "I think the memories there haunted her too much, she just couldn't handle it."

Loriko looked at him, sympathetic. "I know how you feel," she told him. "My own father died when I was little."

Kurama shook his head, as if trying to shake something out of it. "Lets talk about more happy things," he told her.

She nodded in agreement. "Do you play any sports?" she asked him. "I love gymnastics. We have a lot of good sports teams around here, maybe you can get involved."

"No," he told her, "I don't play any sports. I was thinking about joining something, though. Do they have any martial arts clubs here?"

Loriko nodded. "A lot of kids around here are really into martial arts," she told him. Then she looked up at him shyly. "But if you won a fight with Usho, I doubt you need it."

He looked at her for a moment, eyes wide. Then he smiled and shook his head. "I'm not that good," he told her. "It was mostly just luck. Besides, we weren't really fighting."

"You weren't fighting?" she repeated, surprised by his attitude. "Then what were you doing?"

He just shook his head again, avoiding the question. "Anyway," he told her, "I really want just learn how to get self-control and things. My anger sometimes gets out of hand." That was the understatement of the years.

Loriko looked at him for a moment. Then, as if accepting the odd boy for who he was, smiled at him. "Sure," she told him. "Would you like me to take you to the room after school? It's right by the gymnastics hall, so I wouldn't be going out of my way or anything."

"That'd be great!" he told her enthusiastically, reverting back to his same old self. As if he pulled Loriko back with him, she too blushed at his enthusiasm.

"It's settled, then," she told him. "I'll meet you outside after school?"

"Yeah," Kurama agreed, smiling at her. "That'd be great."

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"Hey, Shuichi!" someone called from behind Kurama. "Wait for me!"

He stopped and turned around, looking for the person who had called for him. Running in his direction was Loriko, panting and out of breath from the run.

Kurama stopped and waited for her to catch her breath before continuing to walk.

"Didn't you have gymnastics club today?" he asked her as they walked down the sidewalk.

Loriko shook her head. "The coach is sick today, so we have the day off. What about you?" she asked him. "Don't you have Karate every day after school now?"

"Uh-uh," Kurama told her. "Today is for the little kids. I'm too advanced to go to that class. It'd just be boring."

She laughed at his tone of voice. "Well, aren't you all high and mighty!" she mocked him teasingly. "You've really improved since you moved here just a year ago."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Sensei said I have 'natural potential of great lengths' or some fancy wording like that. He's always talking in big, complicated sentences, but I think it's mostly just to impress the students."

"You shouldn't talk about your teacher that way," she scolded him, frowning.

Kurama just shook his head. "He really isn't that good," he told her. "But that doesn't matter to me. I came to learn self-control, not fighting."

Loriko just laughed. "Shuichi, you are something else," she told him.

"I know," he said smiling at her. 'But I don't think you really do,' he thought at the girl.

"Hey, Shuichi," she said. "I heard they just opened a new pizza restaurant down the street. Do you want to go check it out?"

"Pizza?" Kurama asked. "What's that?"

"It's some kind of popular American food," she told him. Then she frowned. "Actually I heard it originated in Italy or France or some European country like that, but it's really common in the states."

"Sure," Kurama told the girl. "That sounds good."

Then she laughed, and ran forward. "Last one there has to pay for the food!" she yelled back at the demon gone human.

"Hey!" Kurama yelled at her, running to catch up. "No fair! You got a head start!"

Loriko just laughed, and Kurama ran to catch up with her, but still being careful to stay just a little bit behind.

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"Um," Kurama said, running his tongue over his lips. "That pizza was good. American's sure know how to eat."

"Uh huh," Loriko agreed, walking quickly to keep up with Kurama's long strides. "We both polished off an entire pizza each! I didn't think I was that hungry."

Kurama laughed at her comment. "You probably weren't," he agreed, "but that pizza's so good, it's hard not to eat it."

They walked in silence for a moment, side by side, enjoying each other's comfort. Loriko looked up at the dark sky, with dark clouds going over a barely visible crescent moon. "We'd better hurry home," she told Kurama. "It's getting dark. Plus, with those dark clouds it looks like it's going to rain."

"Okay," Kurama agreed. 

Suddenly, Loriko tripped over something in the dark. "Look out!" Kurama cried, reaching out, trying to catch her falling body.

"Yipe!" she cried, her legs giving out beneath her. Kurama threw himself forwards, catching the girl just before they hit the ground.

"Ouch," Kurama moaned, rubbing his other hand on the arm he had fallen on. He opened one of his eyes in pain, then noticed that he was directly facing Loriko, VERY closely. 

She starred at him, wide eyed in surprise. The young girl looked very pretty there, sitting on the cement, midnight black hair cascading down her back and onto the ground like a waterfall. The nearby lamplight caught her eyes, making them glimmer and sparkle in the dark like stars. Her skin was naturally pale, and even more brought out by the lack of light. 'She's the perfect image of beauty,' Kurama thought. 'Help me, I think I'm in love.'

She leaned forward slightly, and he did also. They watched each other for another moment. Then leaned in even more, so that there lips were almost touching…

"Aw," a voice said from behind them, "isn't that sweet?"

The two children looked up startled. There standing in the alley next to them, was four men. The one who had spoken looked cruel and smug. The man next to him sneered at them. Another of them looked similar to the other two, but the man in the far back looked worried, and kept looking at the two of them nervously.

"Isn't young love sweet?" the big man, supposedly the leader, asked the man next to him. His companion grinned wider.

"What do you want?" Kurama asked them, in a mixture of fear and defiance.

"What do we want?" the big man repeated, then laughed coldly. "Why, we just want what's rightfully ours."

Then, before either of the children noticed, another man had snuck up behind them. He grabbed Loriko, clutching his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, but she managed to make several loud squealing noises.

"Loriko!" he cried, lunging at the frantic girl. The man holding her used his other hand to knock him away, still clutching the squirming girl in his other hand.

"We just want our toll for crossing," the lead man said slyly. "Now, because you're just little kids, we'll cut you a bit of a deal and just make it 30000 yen."

"Boss?" the nervous man said, speaking quietly. "Can't we just let them go? They're just kids?"

"Shut UP!" the man yelled, knocking the man who had spoken, into a pile of trashcans where he lay unconscious.

"Now…" he said, turning back two Kurama. "Give us our money, or the girl gets it."

That was it. I couldn't control my anger. All those long Karate classes had been for nothing. I tried with all my might to hold myself down, breathing heavily and hard.

Then I heard Loriko's frantic cry from between the man's fingers, "Shuichi!" That was it. The last straw. And suddenly, my eyes flipped to silver, my fangs and claws grew, and I lost myself in the power.

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Kurama lay on the ground. It was hard and cold and his body was stiff. He blinked his eyes open. 'Or did I? I can't see anything.' Then, when he saw the stars in the sky he realized it was night. 'But what am I doing lying outside at night?' he wondered to himself. 'What happened?'

Then he remembered. The walking, the almost kiss, the men, the threat, and his transformation. 'But what had happened after that?' he wondered.

He slowly sat up and looked around letting his eyes a just to the darkness. What he saw horrified him. Bodies of the men lay strewed out upon the grounded, each surrounded by a puddle of blood. Each and every one of them were unconscious, and Kurama feared to think of anything worse.

Kurama then heard a sound. It was small and quiet, but the only sound in the entire alley. Then, he saw where it was coming from.

Loriko was curled up in a little ball in the far corner of the alley, facing the wall. She rocked herself back and forth, sobbing quietly to herself as she did so. "Loriko," Kurama whispered slowly.

He stood up slowly. Then, as if unsure of how sure he could walk, toddled forward slowly. "Loriko," he called softly. She didn't hear him.

"Loriko?" he tried again, this time only a few feet from the small crying girl.

As she continued to sob, Kurama took another step forward, until he was right behind the small girl. "Loriko," he said again, setting his hand lightly on her shoulder.

Her reaction scared him. Loriko wheeled around, facing him. Then, seeing who it was, she screamed. Clutching the wall franticly, she tried to get as far away from him as she could, hiding herself in the deepest part of the corner. She looked at him like a wild animal would look at its hunter, terrified, her eyes wide and frantic.

"Loriko! It's just me!" Kurama told her, trying to calm her down. "It's just Shuichi!" He put his hand towards her, trying to set it on the nearest body part to him, her foot.

She screamed again, jerking her foot away from him. The girl curled herself up in the tiny corner, as far hidden as possible. She continued to sob uncontrollably. And every time he tried to touch her, she screamed.

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Hey again, everyone!

So, how did you guys like my double-stuffed chapter? I've been writing these so quickly, I got like three chapters before we actually were online. I couldn't decide whether to put them in one at a time, or put two together. What do you guys prefer? The double-stuffed chapters will be longer, but I'll only be able to do two or so a week, but the shorter ones will come out about every two or three days? Let me know, PLEASE!

Sorry, I did make it a girl he liked, but that's just how it played out. Don't worry, you won't be seeing much of her any more!

I don't think I'm going to make it into a Hiei and Kurama fic, just because I want to stick pretty close to the story line of the anime. However, I'd like to include Hiei in the story's later chapters. If anyone knows how Hiei and Kurama met, before they stole the items, it'd be a great help if you could email me! I will say this, though, Kurama and Hiei won't hate each other's guts. At least not after the story gets going a bit more…

I think that's it… Oh! Wait! A new chapter will be up either tomorrow if you guys are happy with a short one, or a double-stuff will be up on Thursday! Let me know what you prefer!

Dream Fox


	5. Thoughts of a Fox

Disclaimer: Same old, same old. (I have a habit of repeating things very quickly right after another, as you might be able to tell from past disclaimers).

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He never saw the same old Loriko again. He saw her again, surely, but she wasn't herself. The doctors described her as having held over shock, that she would eventually get over it. But she never did.

The hardest part for Kurama was her reaction to him. Every time he got near, she'd look at him with terror in her eyes. Then, she'd scream and scream until he left. No one could get her to calm down when he was nearby, nor could anyone discover what it was about Kurama she was so afraid of. Eventually, the doctors just said it was his own involvement in the incident. That, maybe everything relating to the incident somehow scared her, that it brought back bad memories, or something of the sort. No one ever guessed the truth.

'I suppose it simply didn't occur to them that a child could possibly be the one to cause so much damage,' thought Kurama. 'It just isn't possible, even with my other violence records. No child could ever kill five men, cold blooded. But I did,' he thought looking down at his hands. 'I lost control again, and I did.'

Kurama couldn't understand this feeling. Why should he feel guilty for killing these few couple of men, when he had killed so many other people in the past and felt no remorse at all? And those people had been innocent too. The world was probably better without those ruthless thieves. Yet, he could not stop himself from feeling a horrible kind of uncleanness. The kind of uncleanness that isn't as easy to wash away as blood was. It was blood of the heart.

"Shuichi dear, are you alright?" his mother called from outside the bathroom door.

Kurama, jumping from the noise, looked up quickly from his hands. "Yeah, mom," he told her. "I'm just fine."

"Okay," she said, although he could tell she was still a little worried. She walked away from the door though, leaving him again to his thoughts.

Kurama looked back down at his hands. They looked clean. His pale hands were soft and his fingernails trimmed and neatly kept. But to Kurama, they looked like the hands of a killer. He would have sworn, every once in a while when he glanced down quickly at them, that they had blood on them.

He ran his hands once more under the cool water, than turned the tab off. Wiping his hands on his shirt, he glanced up in the mirror at himself. 'It's amazing,' Kurama thought to himself, 'how different I've become. Not just on the inside, but on the outside, too.'

Kurama's hair was a rose red color, which he wore long down his back. His hair color might have changed much, but when he couldn't feel the swoosh of long hair as he turned his head, couldn't brush his mane of tangles every morning, he didn't feel like himself anymore. 'It's just not right,' he thought, 'for people to have short hair.'

His eyes were a bright green color, which sparkled like emeralds. No, not like emeralds. They weren't any kind of stone. The best way to describe his eyes was like two black beetles, each sitting on a bright green leaf just after rainfall. The green was so bright, so vivid, that it seemed to have a life of it's own. It seemed to dance like candlelight. Yes, that's the best way to describe it; like a green flame, flickering in the wind.

His skin was oddly pale, but Kurama assumed that was a characteristic he carried over from his demon body. He was a light cream colored, like those skin colored sofas. It even carried the slightest tint of brown, but it wasn't the tiniest bit read.

The reincarnated demon's smell was an odd one. It was neither a kitsune's smell, nor a human's smell. It seemed to be a kind of odd mixture of the two, a little bit like a rose, maybe mixed with the smell of wet hair. But not wet fox hair. Wet human hair, was the best way to describe it. Like his own hair, fresh out of the shower.

The size of the boy was an odd one and annoyed him much. It was a characteristic he still hadn't gotten used to. In his demon form, he was well over seven feet tall. In his human form, he was barely four. 'Well, I am only eight after all,' Kurama thought to himself. 'I'll grow, I suppose.' The rest of his body too was young and not as fully developed as his normal form was. The boy sighed, almost sadly. 'It would be nice to be so strong again. In that form, no one would kick me around,' he thought, annoyed.

He ran his wet hand through his hair, leaving a dark, damp streak. Sighing once, he opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway. He looked down both ways, looking for his mother. Not spying her, he listened intently for any sounds of breathing. Although his hearing was barely even a fraction of what it was in his demon form and he was drastically in need of ki practice, he heard a faint breathing coming from the living room.

Kurama trotted down the brown-carpeted hallway into the living room. His mother was sitting on the sofa reading a thick book of some sort. When he entered she glanced up to look at the boy, a slightly worried expression still on her face.

Not wanting to trouble her further, Kurama asked his human mother, "May I go for a little walk?"

The woman looked at her son for a minute. 'He looks tired, with small black lines under his eyes and a few random strands of hair floating around his head,' she thought, studying him. 'This has hurt him harder then he'd care to admit. Loriko was his best friend, his only friend, and now she goes crazy every time he comes close.' She hated letting her only son go out alone, particularly with the recent events. 'But I know Shuichi,' she thought to herself. 'He'll go crazy himself if I don't let him leave the house. The boy isn't the kind who can keep himself cooped up indoors for very long.'

She sighed, than told the boy unwillingly, "alright, you can go." Once she would have been rewarded with a huge smile. Now, it brought only a small one, from the very corner of his mouth, showing her just how much it was affecting him.

As the boy turned to leave, she called back, "Wait, Shuichi?" he turned back to look at his human mother.

She hesitated for a moment, then said quickly, "be careful, alright?" Kurama looked at her with blank eyes for a moment, then smiled and nodded, stepping out into the light.

Kurama glanced up at the sky. It was bright out, almost the exact opposite of the weather on THAT day. He shook his head realizing what he had just thought of. 'Great, now I'm comparing everything to then. Learn to live in the present, Kurama,' he thought smiling ruefully. 'That's where everyone else lives.'

Lightening his spirits a little, he stopped to look down at his little garden he had planted in the corner of the front yard. He leaned down, brushing the leaves on his favorite kind of herb, thyme (a/n: thyme is my favorite herb!). It swayed a little when his fingers came close, reaching out and feeding off of his ki. He smiled a little at its reaction, than checked the other plants. Each of them seemed to be in healthy condition, thriving even, with the help of his own aura.

The boy stood up and brushed the dirt off of his blue jeans. He then reached over to check the rose bush, studying the leaves closely. Then, his eyes lit upon a gorgeous, red rose in the center of the bush. He reached in to touch it, stroking its petals softly, like one would stroke the cheek of a baby. The bush, as if sensing his joy in the pretty flower, swayed softly.

Suddenly, the rose Kurama had been reaching for broke off the rest of the vine. The fox, startled by the snapping, jerked his hand and arm back quickly. Catching his shirt on a few thorns, the sharp daggers punctured his skin, drawing blood. He sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth, and barely whispered, "ouch," softly to himself. Pulling up his torn sleeve, he studied the red scratches across his arm.

The bush drew back a little from Kurama, apologizing to the boy for cutting him.

He laughed softly and thought at the bush, knowing it could hear his thoughts, ::that's alright::

The bush swayed again. Kurama, pushing his sleeve back down again, watched the bush wide-eyed as it leaned towards fallen rose. ::You want me to have it?:: he asked the bush. The bush swayed again, indicating an affirmative.  Then he smiled down at the bush. :That's very kind of you to give your most beautiful flower to me,:: he told the bush, reaching under the tangle of thorn covered vines and prickly leaves.

He pulled the flower out, clutching the stem in his hand gently, for fear her might break it. Digging his nose into the folds of the petals, he inhaled deeply, drawing the sweet sent into him. He smiled, thanked the rose bush once more, and exited the yard, the red rose still clutched tightly in his hand.

Kurama walked aimlessly for a while, letting his feet take him where they would. He studied the houses and the trees, stopping every once in a while to give a quick greeting to a shrub or herb. They couldn't answer back, at least not in words, but the boy knew they appreciated his kindness. 

Suddenly, he realized where he was. The reincarnated human had been careless allowing himself to walk to the town park, a pretty place, with a large jungle gym and a thick grove of trees. It was the same place he had spent so many hours with Loriko, talking and playing, sharing each other's jokes and just taking joy in someone else's happiness. 

Loriko's favorite part of the structure had always been the monkey bars, while Kurama's had been the swings. "There is no greater joy," he had once told Loriko, "then working so hard to get yourself so high, then taking in all the beauty of where you are and how hard you work." "No way!" Loriko had countered. "The monkey bars are much more fun! You set a goal for yourself then go to get it, with only your own strength to get you there." The two of them had debated long hours about this….monkey bars, swings, monkey bars, swings. They had never finished the debate.

Kurama shook his head, irritated with himself. 'There are to many memories here,' he thought to himself. 'It's to full of happiness and joy. This place can never be the same sanctuary it once was.'

As he was turning to leave, he suddenly stopped. There was a noise, and a very odd one, coming from the forest glade by the park. If he had been in fox form, his ears would have twitched back, trying to pick up the sound. He shook his head ruefully. 'It's not my business,' he thought to himself.' But he paused again. Then, the fox sighed. Turning around he murmured to himself, "Oh well, you know what those humans say…curiosity killed the cat, but the fox gets the mat."

He plunged off into the thick trees.

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Hi fans,

Not much to say. I've been really sick lately, so I don't want to type much.

Thanks everyone who told me how Hiei and Kurama met. I'm going to have to change it a little to suit my story, but I'll try to work those versions in.

Next chapter will either be up on Saturday or next Tuesday. Sorry it will take so long.

I'm going to go lie down and suffer a little more.

Dream Fox


	6. Battle of the Rose

Disclaimer: Do we have to write these or are they just for fun?

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Kurama crept through the shadows of the small circle of trees, staying hidden from the noise, and testing the air every once in a while. He saw a sharp flash of movement from behind a dark branch. Turning around to the other side of the tree to see properly, what he saw was the last thing he expected.

In the small opening in the circle of trees, there were two battling demons. The most noticeable and inhuman of the two was a medium size, perhaps that of a large man. Not too large as far as demons go, but certainly not small. The most shocking part was it's unusual bright blue color, which seemed to have not real use. Neither did a small horn that stuck out of the top of its forehead, of a bright, pearly color. Its teeth were large and gray colored, as were its long claws that came out of its hands and feet. And dripping off one hand, was a lot, a LOT of blood.

The other demon was clearly the one whom the blood had been taken from. He was small, but not young. He was extremely human looking, but not totally unnoticeable. His hair was mostly black, with a spiral of white coming out of his forelocks. Well muscled and finely built, he had the look of a swords man, which was only enforced by the long, black sword he was carrying. 

What the two demons were doing, nor whom they were fighting for made their appearance, and Kurama had little idea. His lack of contact with the spirit or demon world had made him undeniably ignorant of the events. Although his need to help one side was great, Kurama knew better. He could easily make a very powerful enemy that way, an enemy that wasn't connected to him in anyway. Besides, although he was reluctant to admit it, the reincarnated demon was incredibly weak as far as demons went. His human body was weak and ill timed and although Kurama himself had a natural knack for studying his opponent and destroying them, he hadn't used this ability in many years and had no desire to do so now. And the need wasn't great enough to give himself over to his demon self and risk killing everything in a ten block radius. So he had little choice then stay and watch, or leave, which he wasn't about to do incase things got out of hand.

For two demons, the fighters were incredibly civilized. They worked almost totally silently so as to not draw attention to their fighting arena. It had also been remarkably civilized of them to come to an uninhabited area in the first place. But, civilized or not, the unwritten rules were still the same. The loser would die. And right now, Kurama had a fairly good idea who the loser would be.

The injured demon was being pushed back towards the very end of the glade toward a big tree. He was being cornered and he clearly knew it. But this really made little difference. His normal right sword's hand had a large gash on it, making it impossible to use for anything other then balance. So the normally, probably quite good fighter was reduced to fighting only with the worse of his two hands.

With another good gash, the blue demon got another good swipe at the black haired demon, drawing blood from his chest and pushing him up to the back of the tree. However quickly it had gone, the fight was done. The blue demon raised his blood covered, clawed hand, readying himself to take the death swing. The injured demon closed his eyes, readying himself for the inevitable, ever nearing death.

But it never came. With a flash, Kurama leapt out from behind his tree without even a second thought. Even with a lack of thought, he pulled out his rose. Giving it a good, hard thrash, he felt something run though his body that he hadn't felt in a good, long time. It was the feeling of power, pure unharnessed energy coursing though his veins. With that, he gave a cry and the once simple beautiful rose had become a long, deadly, green, spiked vine. 

Both demons widened their eyes at his sudden appearance. The blue demon quickly turned around, letting the other demon drop to the ground in pain, wincing a little but still looking up wide-eyed at Kurama.

The blue demon bared his sharp teeth at Kurama, who, without a second thought, snapped his whip once and within the blink of an eye, had it rapped around the demon's neck. The demon who was still hadn't gotten over the appearance of a new, strong demon, was even more surprised to find the demon had him in a death grip.

Then, with one sharp pull, Kurama cracked all the bones in the demons neck, killing it instantly. The demon's corpse fell to the ground with a hard thud, then lay perfectly still in the damp dirt.

Kurama looked at it for a moment, still a little surprised with himself. Then noticing his whip, examined it with his energy. It was a typical plant metamorphosis state and with a little energy, he quickly set it back to its normal rose form. Tucking the rose into the inside of his jacket, the demon gone human looked around.

When he saw the injured demon still staring up at him, he suddenly realized he should help. He walked over and leaned down to look at him. The other demon, obviously expecting to die and not willing to go easily, quickly hauled himself up and threw his sword out in front of him. Even with all his cuts and blood running all down his front, he managed to stand up with only a little help from the tree. He seemed to give Kurama a look that had little reason to believe that he would live, but would not go down without a little bit of a fight.

"Don't worry," Kurama told him quietly like one would talk to a frightened animal. "I won't hurt you."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" the black haired demon spat at him.

"You don't," Kurama told him shrugging. "You'll just have to take my word for it."

"Hah," the demon laughed coldly. "Like I'd trust the word of a powerful, killer demon."

Kurama, although stung by his words, did his best remain impassive. "You don't have much of a choice. Because, you see, in just a moment you're going to be unconscious."

And with that the injured demon blacked out. Kurama starred at him for a moment, a black heap upon the ground. Then he sighed. If he left him here, the demon would die and his human heart was too softened to do that.

Scooping up the bloody, black clothed body, Kurama threw him over his shoulder and carried him as gently as he could out of the forest glade.

This small, seemingly insignificant demon was his first revived connection with the rest of the demon world.

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Hey fans,

Okay, my new chapter is up, but it's one of the 1000 word chapters instead. A new chapter will probably be up on Tuesday, although whether it will be a double sized chapter or a normal one, I am unsure. I don't suppose it matters, as long as I have one up, ne?

We all know who the injured demon is, but since this is more or less in Kurama's point of view, I thought it'd be best not to mention his name until Kurama knows it.

I mostly put this chapter in for all you Hiei fans. I wasn't intending on having this chapter up for a couple "years" but with all the requests, I just couldn't resist. It also fit in pretty well.

Unfortunately, however, Hiei won't be in for long. He's going to go away for a while, then come back later. Kurama and Hiei do talk a bit in the next chapter though, which should be rather entertaining. So stay tuned!

Thank you everyone who sympathized with my sickyness. It was not fun, trust me.

Also, if anyone knows of any good Kurama/Hiei fics, let me know! I've seen most of the good ones on this site, but not all! No offence to you guys who like this kind of stuff, but I REALLY hate some of the love combinations in the YYH fics. Like Kurama and Boton! Come on people, like they'd ever be in love?!?! I have a hard time imagining them talking, let alone in love! God, that bugs me!

Anyway, I think that's it! Please review and flames are received with bared teeth and claws!

And on that note, love and kisses fans!

Dream Fox


	7. The Fire and the Thorn

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies…

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"Thank you for dinner, Mother," Kurama said, standing up and piling up a few plates and bowls to carry them over to the sink. 

He was in a little bit of a rush to get back upstairs before the injured, currently unconscious demon would wake and make enough of a racket to draw his mother's attention. But, polite as always, he wanted to wash the dishes for Mother before seeing to his charge.

Mother though, equally polite, told him as he brought the dishes over and started to run water over them, "oh that's alright, Shuichi dear! You go upstairs and rest. I'll take care of the dishes tonight."

"Thank you, Mother," he told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs.

It was true he was very tired. He was unused to channeling energy, let alone the large amount it had taken to activate the weapon he had now dubbed "rose whip." The energy was actually very little for a demon as powerful as his demon form, but for a normal human, the power was enormous.

Kurama sighed as he got to the top of the stairs. 'And not only can I not rest,' he thought, 'but I have a bleeding demon lying in my bed. This is going to be one long night.'

He pushed open the door to his bedroom and closed it quickly behind him. Suddenly, a flash of red caught his eye. The black haired demon was staring intensely at him from his bed.

The demon opened his mouth, probably to loudly demand something, but Kurama silently hushed him. "Mother doesn't know you're here. I'd have a lot of explaining to do if someone else started yelling from my room. Explaining your presence would not be an easy task." That shut the demon up.

Then the demon, fought to sit up from the bed. Kurama rushed over to his side and pushed him back down. "You have a lot of bad wounds," he told the demon. "I don't think it'd be a good idea to do lots of moving."

The demon, although obviously annoyed by his handicap and weakness, looked off towards the wall with a, "hn." Kurama smiled and pulled a medicine box out from under his bed, and slowly and gently began taking off the bandage on the demon's arm.

As he was doing so, the demon looked back over at him. "Who are you?" the demon asked him.

"Kurama," he told him without a second thought, than winced inwardly. 'Damn, I shouldn't have given him my demon name. If he finds out my situation, then I'm in trouble.'

They drifted back into silence. "What is your name?" Kurama asked the demon, more trying to start a conversation then particularly caring.

The demon starred at him. "You don't even know who I am?" he asked Kurama shocked. "And you still helped me?" Kurama shrugged indicating a maybe, but no real definite answer. The demon, who after a minute of analyzing this fact, finally said, "Hiei."

"Hm?" Kurama asked distracted.

"My name is Hiei," the demon snapped at him, starting to lose his patience.

"Well," Kurama said, smiling a little from the demon's quick temper, "Hiei, you'd better just stay here until you're better. Some of those wounds are pretty bad.'

They sat like that for another couple minutes in silence, as Kurama worked his way from the demon's arm cuts down to the gash on his leg. Suddenly, Hiei sat up and banged his fist on the bed.

"Damn it," he growled annoyed, staring at Kurama in frustration. "Just what are you, human or demon? Your body is clearly that of a human and you live in a human house, but your ki defiantly has traces of a demon. Just what the heck are you."

This sudden outburst greatly shocked the kitsune, but after realizing what was the matter, he laughed. Hiei, annoyed by his laughing and feeling mocked, growled at him. "Sorry," Kurama told him, brushing a loose strand of hair out of his face. "But I keep forgetting how odd I must look to a ki reader. You could say," he said with a slight smirk, "that I'm a slight mixture of the two."

"A half breed?" Hiei asked in surprise.

"Well, something like that," Kurama told him shrugging.

"Besides," the fox said, continuing with the re-bandaging, "you're a bit of a odd mix yourself, aren't you? You defiantly have fire powers and it's unquestionable that fire is your main element." Then Kurama frowned. "But you're not totally fire demon either, and I'm not entirely sure what the other half is."

Hiei looked away. Kurama, sensing this was obviously a sensitive spot to a generally insensitive demon, let the matter drop.

The fire demon, probably trying to search for a change of topic, asked, "and how old are you anyway? You look like a kid, but you certainly don't act like one."

 Kurama winced again. 'We certainly do have a knack for bring up the things we don't want to talk about, don't we?' he thought, than sighed.

"I'm eight in the human world," he told Hiei. "But in the demon world, I'm much older."

"How old?" Hiei asked him suspiciously. 'He probably knows that I'm not your typical demon,' Kurama thought.

Then, to side step the question, said, "Pretty old."

Hiei would not be led off, however. "Exactly how old?"

Kurama sighed, not liking to lie and so forced to tell the truth. "I'm not exactly sure, but if I had to guess, I'd say about 1000 years or so."

Hiei's eyes widened at that. 1000 years was a lot for a demon and only the most powerful survived to hit the 800s or so. Kurama was a rare demon, indeed.

"And exactly what kind of demon are you, anyway?" Hiei asked as Kurama started to put away the medicine box.

This was starting to get dangerously close to revealing who Kurama actually was, but the last bit of information wasn't terribly bad. "Kitsune," he informed the fire demon as he pushed the box back under the bed.

Hiei snuffed at his answer. "A plant wielder, then," as if this were somehow inferior to a fire demon.

"Hey," Kurama said irritated, his demon pride getting the better of him. "It was this plant wielder who saved your life."

Hiei shrugged, wincing a little from the sharp pain in his shoulder. "I'll be leaving then," he said, standing up.

"You just got seriously injured! You should rest before you go get into trouble. Stay here for the night at least!" Kurama told him, trying to push in back down again.

Hiei, though, just pushed him off. "No," he said, going over to the window and opening it. "I'd rather just leave."

The fire demon stood up in the windowsill readying himself to jump off. Then, as a last minute thought, he looked back at Kurama. "Thanks," he said simply. And with that last word disappeared before Kurama could even give him a simple "you're welcome."

'Well, at least this solves the problem of sleeping arrangements,' he thought, lying down on his bed. It was a little warm from the fire demon's body that had just lain there.

And as Shuichi Minamino, other wise known as Kurama, lay on his bed and looked up at the ceiling, he realized something. 'Maybe it's not worth it to give up hope of gaining control of my demon self. Perhaps I've just been looking in the wrong place.'

'When I saw Hiei, I remembered something. Demon's are much better at all forms of fighting then humans will ever be. Maybe it's just that I'm looking in the wrong place for some to teach me self-control. Mayhap I should turn to the demons instead of the humans.'

It was this thought that first caused him to regain contact with his true world- the world of the demons.

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Hey again!

I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I said I'd have my new chapter up on Tuesday and I didn't! I beg your apology! I had a huge play to do Tuesday night, and I couldn't get my computer over to a computer with internet access! I'm really really sorry!

Now I just had to reply to a few reviews…let me see…

First of all, to Meheira, I'm sorry I didn't make it clear which Tuesday I meant, and with me being late, I'm sure that just confused you even more. I'm sorry, I'll try and add in the date from now on also.

And to the review that really crushed me, Dragonet of Flame. I'm really sorry you don't like my story, and I'm replying even though you probably aren't continuing to read this. I don't know what "non-cannon" is, but this story DOES mostly focus on Kurama. Hiei doesn't see Kurama for a while after this. Also, I'm sorry that you don't like how I don't keep characters in for long, but that's how these characters just turned out. Sorry once again, but as my fellow YYH crazed fan, Lugiamania would say, "If you don't like it, then don't read it." Although, I must say that the flame you sent was pretty kind, which I really appreciate.

And last of all, I have a new story up, that everyone who reads this will probably like! It's a parallel story to this one, more or less, but in Hiei's point of view. It starts about when he meets Kurama, but it doesn't focus on their relationship. Anyway, it should be up in a few hours, so I hope you all read and enjoy.

I think that was it. I know this is a long message, but bear with me. I'm not sure when my new chapter will be up, because I'm having some trouble writing it, but I hope it's up by Sunday, so I suggest you check then!

Thank you all for your kindness!

Dream Fox


	8. Pricked by the Thorn, Ferret?

Disclaimer: If I did say I owned YYH, would I be sued or something? Well, let's not find out…

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Kurama walked down the sidewalk of Norsanu, a demon city. Actually, the city itself was in Japan, but it acted more or less like a demon city. Few humans actually lived there and those that did knew about demons and were at least as powerful as them. Normal humans didn't last long in a town where bar brawls usually caused the bar to erupt in a ball of flame.

Suddenly out of nowhere, he found a hand grab his arm, stopping him suddenly. Kurama was jerked around to find himself face to face with a rather large coyote demon.

"Hey, kid," the coyote growled at him. "Why don't you hand over all your cash and jewelry and I might just let you live."

The fox was infuriated. 'How dare this scum touch me!' he thought and was tempted to rip off the coyote's arm just for fun. Although it was what a normal demon might have done, Kurama had more self-restraint. He tried his best to remain calm and remind himself that the demon had no idea who Kurama was.

Instead, Kurama settled for frightening the demon out of his wits rather then permanently injuring him. Without any warning, he suddenly let go of his shields. The fox's demon power suddenly exploded, skyrocketing like it never had before. His aura suddenly blasted into a huge fireball of green and made the coyote demon jump back quickly, his hair sticking up on end like a dog's would.

"Never," Kurama growled, "underestimate a human again, do you understand?"

The demon, although probably aware that Kurama's ki was not that of a human, was too scared to say anything. "Yes, sir," he stuttered. "Right away, sir," he muttered as he ran with his tail between his legs to the nearest alleyway.

Kurama laughed a little to himself as he watched him leave, then put his shields back up again, making it appear more like he was a human, but less like he was a weak one. The shields weren't very strong and a capable demon would be able to break them without too much trouble. But then again, Kurama had never been officially trained in his human form to handle shields or any other kind of ki manipulating. All the more reason to get himself a capable trainer, and so he started off once more in the direction he was heading, ignoring the stares of the few demons who had witnessed the coyote incident.

Feeling a little better, Kurama started off again, walking down the blocked sidewalk. At the end of the corner, he found what he was looking for. It was a large, dome building, with a mixture of dark blue and black colors. Outside a crowd hoarded around the entrance, some not even bothering to hide their demon forms, making them an odd color array of skin color, bright blue, browns, reds, and just about every single shade of green.

Walking up to the door, he pushed his way past a few people, who completely ignored him, totally intent on whatever was going on inside the building. When at last he reached the front, which was rather quickly thanks to his small size, he stopped a moment in the entrance to observe the entertainment.

The inside of the building was huge, with a large audience of people seated around a square like platform in the center. It was an arena, that much was obvious, but the oddest thing was what was going on in the center.

Two demons stood there, both in true forms and watching each other wearily. The fight had just begun and the two opponents observed the other, looking for an opening. Suddenly, the smaller demon moved forward quickly, drawing a huge blade from the sheath on his back. Several demons cheered, thinking that the smaller demon was going to get a good hit, winning the fight quickly. All of the sudden, the large demon jerked the side, dodging the blow. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled an energy ball, and as the small demon stumbled from his miss, jammed it into the small demon's head.

It was over in a flash. The small demon's head burst, splattering blood everywhere, letting the big demon leave without a so much as a scratch. The large demon lifted his arms to the crowd in triumph and victory. Kurama snorted, 'He couldn't look more like an oaf then he does right now.' The crowd didn't seem to mind though, as they cheered loudly.

 The announcer came on then. "And here we have Ranu with a stunning twelfth victory!" The crowd cheered loudly at that, and the demon, Ranu, lifted his hands into the victory sign.

'He's a good then,' Kurama thought. 'Even if these fighters aren't very good, twelve wins is impressive.'

Then the fox shook his head. 'I'm not here to watch fights,' he thought, pushing through more of the crowd.

He headed for one of the back doors leading up to the balconies. He pushed it open, passed several more demons, and headed up a small flight of stairs. 

Making his way down long and complicated hallways, Kurama stopped when he at last found room 666. 'Ah,' Kurama thought, 'the irony of it all.'

He pushed open the door quietly and took a step inside. The room was small, with just two chairs facing a glass pane, which overlooked the arena. But, the most important part of the room was what sat in one of the two chairs.

It was a demon, and an odd one at that. He looked a little like a mixture between a kitsune and a squirrel demon, with a slim body and a whiskered nose, which twitched nervously. The demon, which Kurama knew was a ferret, was obviously very worried about something. He watched the fight distractedly, with his tail swaying back and forth and his ears twitching back and forth. 

And Kurama knew exactly what worried him. It was himself. He had forgot to mention to the demon that he was the reincarnation of Kurama, not the demon himself. It had been a wise decision, all things considered, but had made the demon relatively nervous. Wouldn't he get a surprise when he turned around? 

'It would be wise, though,' Kurama considered thoughtfully, 'to pretend to act the same as my old self. I want to keep my old reputation, and this way he'll still fear and thus, listen, to me.

Doing his best to act arrogant, the kitsune coughed loudly. The ferret jump high up in his seat in terror, then whirled around to face the doorway where Kurama stood. When he saw the young looking human, he looked surprised and shocked. 

Kurama, doing his best to give an irritated scowl, looked up at the ferret, annoyed. "I, uh, ordered this room," the demon stuttered. "It's paid for, trust me."

Suddenly, Kurama realized what the other demon thought. 'He doesn't know I'm Kurama!' he realized with surprise, although his face still showed nothing more then annoyance. 'He thinks I work here!'

"I should think so," Kurama growled at the demon, doing his best Youko Kurama expression. "But I doubt it was paid for with legally made coin."

The ferret, suddenly realizing how the other demon was talking and acting, realized the situation. "Kurama-sama!" the ferret said, terrified. Giving a quick bow, stuttered nervously, "I'm horribly sorry, Kurama-sama! I didn't recognize you in your…er… new form."

Kurama did his best to scowl darkly, although he was pretty sure it looked pretty ridiculous on his child form. "I see," he said, raising an eyebrow. Closing the door behind him, Kurama walked over to the other chair and sat down, pretending to watch the fight, slightly entertained. He had, of course, no real interest in the fight, which was apparently going to be Ranu's thirteenth win. He was, in fact, much more interested in the demon watching him nervously from the seat next to him. But he knew Youko Kurama would have taken his time in the deal they were about to have, making the other demon sweat a little just to make him nervous.

Finally, after a few minutes of watching the fight end in silence, Kurama decided impatiently that they had waited long enough. Turning to the ferret, he studied him closely while the other demon sweated in his seat. "You must be wondering why I have called you here today, after so many years. I have a proposition to make for you," he said slowly.

The other demon nodded nervously in understanding. "Yes," he agreed, encouraging Kurama to continue, probably hoping to get out there as quickly as possible.

"You see," the fox continued in an annoying slow pace, as he turned back to look at the currently empty arena. "Eight years ago I placed my self in this human body when I was seriously injured." He did his best to avoid using words like 'killed' or 'reincarnation,' which would make him seem uncharacteristically weak and avoid giving the demon any ideas. 

"Unfortunately," he proceeded, "this human body is a good deal weaker then my demon one, and I haven't had the chance to train my ki very well yet." Then he fixed the demon with an icy stare to get his next point across. "This doesn't mean I can be easily beaten." The ferret nodded urgently, worried that the kitsune would get it in his head that he was out to betray him and that Kurama would feel the need to kill him when the job was done.

"So I want you to find a competent teacher to help me train this human body," Kurama told him. The ferret looked at him in surprised but didn't say anything, so the fox continued. "I want a teacher that is good with plant manipulation. I don't care if she's a good fighter, but she also has to be familiar with both demon and human ki. In addition, I don't care if she's a demon or not. But the most important part is she must be extremely talented in self-discipline. That is the main requirement."

Kurama then turned back to the demon, who a moment before had been frowning in thought, but now that the fox's eyes lit upon him, looked up in start. Then, standing up and bowing deeply, said, "I shall do my best, Kurama-sama." At the kitsune's sharp, approving nod, he sighed a little in relief. 

"Um, where might I send a spirit once the information has been found?" he asked the fox. Paid spirits were the most traditional form of sending messages in the spirit and demon worlds. 'I don't think it's a good idea to have him send a spirit,' Kurama thought. 'I don't think mother would be happy if she found a see-through person floating around out house.'

Then the kitsune looked up with an idea. "I'm going to give you something called a telephone number," he told the confused ferret. "Because I'm living in the human world, it's the easiest form of communication. Just contact me by that." Taking a piece of paper, he scribbled the number down quickly with a pen from his pocket, and handed it to the other demon, who looked down at the numbers in a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

But, it wasn't a great idea to disobey a thousand year old demon, even if he wasn't in human form at the moment. "Yes, Kurama-sama," the ferret said, taking a respectful bow as he stood by the door. "I'll contact you when I find the information," and with that he quickly hurried out of the door and down the hallway.

Kurama sighed. He had been just about as nervous as the ferret himself, although the rodent demon wouldn't believe it if he had heard it. Waiting for a moment before leaving also, the demon gone human walked down the halls, out of the tournament dome, where Ranu had just made his fourteenth win, and down the streets of the city. Then, as he hopped onto a train, made his way out of the demon city of Norsanu.

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Hey ya'll!

New chappie up! Unfortunately, from here on out, I don't have it very well planned. Hey, I can only plan so far ahead in advance! So, I'm not exactly sure when a new chapter will be up. Monday the 26 MAYBE, but it's not very likely. I'll probably have one up by Tuesday the 27. Sorry it'll take so long, but I don't want to rush or else it'll totally ruin the story.

I had a few responses to reviews…Oh! That reminds me! I wanted to tell everyone that I'm happy to answer questions in my authors notes here, and I actually enjoy doing it! So, if anyone has any questions that are moderately relevant, ask them few reviews! Okay, now that I've said that, here are my responces…

Tatoosh asked me a question a couple of chapters ago, although I'm pretty sure it was rhetorical. S/he asked when he gets the hoard of fan girls. Well, that probably won't be until he's older and going to a new school. On the other hand, I don't think the manga or anime actually SAID that he had a hoard of fan girls, that it's just a fanfic thing. Then again, I can't really read most of the manga, since it's not in English yet and unfortunately, I can't understand Japanese (as much as I'd like to…)

The only other question or thing I wanted to respond to was Keaira, who asked if this was going to be yaoi when Hiei and Kurama meet up again. I'm honestly not sure, because they don't meet again for a while, and like I said before, I haven't planned that far in advance. But, this story is NOT centering on their relationship, or the love relationships of any characters for that matter. I know this is extremely rare in the world of fanfiction, but hey, I'm weird already, just ask Lugiamania. But, if I do add Yaoi, there probably won't be much and I definitely won't be graphic. This is not, and never will be, a lemon. Sorry, I'm just a kid (more or less).

I know I've written a lot in my authors note, but I just wanted to update everyone. In fact, most people probably aren't bothering to read this anyway. I know I rarely do…

Last thing is READ MY NEW YYH STORY!!! Did that get your attention? Good. I was really surprised that you people who like this story didn't all flock to my new one. It's a parallel to this one, only more in Hiei's point of view, centering on his life! Read it, PLEASE!!! I just put up a new chapter in that one too.

That's all for now devoted friends and fans! Chat soon!

'ream Fox (I did that purposely…. Has a nice ring doesn't it, 'ream Fox?)


	9. Sleeping Foxes Under Willows

Disclaimer: Whatever….

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Kurama lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was thinking about nothing in particular, just letting his mind drift, floating in and out of different thoughts like an eagle on shifting wings. He counted the cracks on his white roof for a while, and when he was bored of that, studied the creases on his palm.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. Startled nearly out of his wits, he fell off of his bed in a huge thump. "Shuichi?" a concerned voice from outside his door called. "Are you alright?"

Sighing inwardly in relief as he picked himself up, he called back, "I'm fine, mother! What is it?"

She opened his door and held out the black phone to him. "It's for you. They sounded really old, but when I asked if they were a friend from school, they said yes."

"Oh," Kurama said, pushing his disheveled hair out his eyes and back behind his ears. He stood up and took the phone timidly.

His mother smiled fondly at him. "It's so nice to see you're finally making friends," she said warmly, and closed the door softly, exiting his doorway.

Kurama looked at the phone, and brought it up to his face. Then, he hesitated slightly, taking a deep breath, and said into the receiver in the most commanding voice as possible, "Yes?"

"Er, Kurama-sama. This is Ferret," the voice from the other end said, nervous as always."

"Yes, so I gathered," Kurama said, doing his best to sound irritated. 

Ferret, probably guessing his annoyance, hurried quickly on. "I think I've found a good match to your request, Kurama-sama."

"And?"

There was a slight pause on the other end. Finally, the ferret asked slightly afraid, "And what?"

"The information, you fool!" Kurama roared, trying as hard as possible to match Youko Kurama's temper, and not burst out laughing at the same time. "Where does she live? Have you talked to her? Does she know the circumstances? Details, rodent, I need details!"

The ferret was probably extremely worried at this point. "Yes, sir!" he said quickly. Then there was another pause, with the sound of ruffling papers on the other end.

"Well, it seems she doesn't know about you, nor have we talked to her. We know she is looking for a student, though, so if you meet her requirements there should be no problem." He paused for a moment, expecting a flare of temper from the demon at the idea that he wouldn't meet her standards. When none came, he plowed on.

"Her human name is unknown, but her name in the demon world is Koranu, or the Wistful Willow (a/n: Koranu is NOT Japanese for Wistful Willow, or anything else for that matter. It might be demon talk. Make it what you will). She's well known for her plant abilities, particularly with trees. It's said that in her youth she was quite attractive, although she never actually married. At some point, however, her ki got accidentally mixed with a demon's youki, and her abilities and lifespan were drastically increased. Now, she's about three hundred years old and lives in the human world in a small town named Horitu in Japan."

'Horitu!' Kurama thought to himself. 'Excellent! She's not far away then, only a half hour by train. If she does except me, there shouldn't be any trouble with transportation.'

"Thank you, Ferret," the red haired demon told the demon on the other side of  the line, doing his best to sound like he wasn't really all that grateful. "That will do for now."

'I really should kill him,' Kurama thought. 'I don't want my identity getting exposed at all. But I don't want to take any more lives, and besides, he'd be hard to track.'

"And Ferret," he said, commandingly.

"Yes, Kurama-sama?" Ferret asked timidly.

"If a single slip gets out to anyone about my identity or where-abouts, I'll make sure you are the first to die," he told the demon menacingly, growling a little just for good measure.

"Yes, sir!" the ferret said quickly, trying desperately to get any ideas of the possibility of him being a traitor out of his masters head. "I understand perfectly! I will not disobey you!"

"Good," Kurama purred.

There was an uncomfortable silence then on the other end of the phone. 'What else could he want?' Kurama thought.

"Er, Kurama-sama?" the voice asked him hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"… Do you really go to a human school? With little eight year olds?" 

Kurama promptly hung up.

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Kurama stood in front of the long stairs, looking up at the red temple at the top as the train rumbled down the tracks behind him. It was early Sunday morning, and the fox demon was mentally preparing himself for his and Koranu's first meeting. He had told his mother he was going on a field trip with the rest of his class, to some museum or other. He didn't like lying to her, but there was little else he could do. Being a demon brought about desperate measures in times of need.

Talking a deep breath, he stared up the large pathway of stone steps. As it turned out, he needed it, and not just for mental calming either. The stairs were long. VERY long.

He reached the top, just a little short of breath. He turned around to look back down to the bottom where he had stood a moment before, trying to catch his wind. 'Just goes to show how out of breath I really am. I really am out of shape… I just hope Koranu won't be upset about me showing up uninvited. I just didn't know if she had a telephone or not.'

"So you're Kurama" a soft voice said from behind him, making him wheel around in terror.

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Hey everyone,

I know this is a short chapter, but I was having a hard time trying to find a place to end it. I figure this is as good of spot as any, although if my guess is correct (and if you people really DO like my story) you're probably all swearing at me for stopping it there. Sorry. But never fear, a new chapter will be up on Thursday the 29th (probably).

Talking about fans, doesn't it seem like most fan fiction readers and writers are girls? I haven't met a single person claming themselves to be a male writer. I'm not saying they aren't out there, but it is a little strange. Maybe most of the fan fiction is a bit to girly for the guys, though. Who knows…

There were a couple things I wanted to say this time around…wait around while I think for a second…

Okay! Here goes! I have my two other YYH stories aside from this. In addition to the parallel story to this, about Hiei, I just put a new one up. CALLING ALL YAOI FANS!!!! I hope that got your attention. It worked last time. Well, I have a new story up called 'Ashes, Ashes' which is a pretty dark, yaoi, death fic. Kurama dies in it, but he doesn't exactly stay dead. You'll see what I mean. There's only one chapter up so far, but there WILL be more, I promise you by my honor as a fox (okay, well I'm not exactly a fox, but details, details…)!

There were probably a few things in your guy's reviews that I wanted to answer, but since I can't check them write now, due to ANNOYING nuisances  (damn brothers!), so I'll just have to do it next chapter!

Talk on Thursday!

'ream


	10. Under the Willow Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH, or any of these characters (though wouldn't it be funny if I did? Although, I don't think Hiei would appreciate being chained to the wall of my room…. I'd come home one day, only to find my house no longer existed and all that was left was a pile of ash).

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"So, you're Kurama," a soft voice purred from behind the fox, making him wheel around in startlement. 'Who's that?!?! And how do they know my true name?!?!'

He found himself face to face with an odd looking woman. She was tall, a little bit more so then Kurama's eight year old self, but not nearly so as his Youko body would be. Her long, wavy lavender hair fell softly around her face in soft curls, coming down to her knees. Her body was slim but strong, much resembling that of a dancer. But it was her eyes that were the most amazing. They were both bright yellow, like a cat's, and seemed to burn like two golden orbs of light. She was smiling slightly at him, studying him up and down.

"Who are you?" Kurama demanded. She was pretty, but that didn't mean much. Some of the most deadly animals were the most beautiful, drawing you closer, ever so seductively, until you were close enough to bite, in which they poisoned you and ate you alive. A gruesome death to be sure, and one Kurama would rather avoid. He doubted this young lady would try and poison him by biting his flesh, but one could never be too cautious. There are other ways to poison, then the poison of the body.

"Yes, I was told you were cautious, if not a little sly. My name, as you probably already know, is Koranu, or Wistful Willow." She smiled down at Kurama, watching the youth closely.

'THIS is Koranu?!?! I expected an old hag, not a pretty woman! She looks just like a youthful girl, not a three hundred year old demon half breed!' the fox thought in bewilderment.

Koranu raised a delicate eyebrow at him. "Surprised? Well, that's no shock, most people are surprised by my appearance. I expected better from you though. I was told that you were wise, so you should know better then to judge one by their looks, no matter what they be."

'Just what is going on?!?! How has she heard of me? I didn't talk to her before now, and nor did Ferret. By all accounts she should have never even heard of me. And how much does she know? Does she know of my past?"

"Come on," the woman told the bewildered fox, turning around and walking toward the door of the temple. "We must talk."

'Well, this is an interesting development,' the fox thought as he followed the woman inside. 'She trusts me enough to turn her back toward me. That's saying something right there. She knows she can trust me, but how does she know that?'

The room was small, with a simple wooden plank floor and walls, decorated with red paint. It was pretty but simple. They didn't stay long though, and instead went through to the other side, pushing open the sliding door and entered a small room, that had the look of a kitchen.

"Sit here," Koranu told the fox, motioning to a chair beside a small table with a light blue table cloth. He sat and waited patiently, looking up at her expectantly. Koranu, however, went behind the counter and picked up a bowling teapot of hot water. "Tea?" she asked him.

"Yes please," he said. "Green tea, if you have it." She nodded and turned back to one of the shelves, pulled out two packets of green tea. Then she turned to a new cabinet, took out two mugs, put the packets in, and poured boiling water in each one. The steam the arose as she poured seemed to dance above her head, playing games with the foxes mind and showing random pictures.

Koranu brought the two cups over and set one in front of Kurama. "There's milk and sugar if you like it English style," she told him, but he just shook his head. 'No point in wasting perfectly good tea with milk and sugar,' he thought.

Koranu poured a little drop of milk into her tea, stirred it three times, and set the spoon down. She sighed once and took a small sip of tea, as Kurama waited expectantly. She looked up at the demon gone human, and Kurama was surprised to find something in her eyes he had not seen before. It was age, pure and simple. As young as her body looked, Koranu was an old woman. She had seen many things in life: death, blood, lovers, and had a fair share of all. But there was only so much time one could take, and the time was beginning to catch up with her. Her eyes held so much wisdom, but so much pain and sadness. 'They're like my eyes,' Kurama thought surprised. 'Is that what people see when they look into my eyes?'

"I'm old, Kurama," she told the fox, sighing a little. "I'm old and tired, and it's becoming my time to move on. I have just enough time left to train a new student, but that's it. Before you know what you're getting into, know that after you are done with this training, I WILL die, and I do NOT want to be stopped. Is that clear?"

Kurama hesitated for a moment, then nodded his head quickly. He understood.

"Good. You probably have many questions to ask me. First, let me explain to you exactly what is going on.

"I am not a fighter. Before you agree to get any training from me, you must know this. I can fight, but it is not my best ability. My abilities focus on discipline. My style is based on the idea that discipline can over come everything. It is not the stronger one who wins the fight, it is the one with the most endurence. 

"Also, many of my attributes are based around the earth, focusing on life, thus most of my weapons and things I can manipulate are plant related. I know you are the same as me in this fact, so we have nothing to worry about there. 

"But let me explain something to you," she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I have seen so much blood in the world, taken so many lives. I have killed thousands of people and felt so little remorse or regret. It is a terrible thing to kill and not weep over the life you have taken. I want, more then anything else in the world, to pass on my knowledge of this to someone else. It is not someone just anyone can understand. So, I had to look for the perfect pupil.

"This is where you come in. One of my abilities is my odd aura. I carry a kind of smoke about it, that apparently allows people to get premonitions when they are around me, including myself. In one of these just such premonitions, I saw you. I learned who you were, and a little bit about you. And I knew you were the perfect pupil for the style I want to pass on. So I waited for you to come. I waited for forty-six years for you to come, and finally, now, here you are."

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Hey again everyone!

I know this is a pretty short chapter, but I wanted to have something to put up before the weekend. I do, on the other hand, really like this chapter! Koranu is one of my favorite characters in this story, even though she's my own original one. She's pretty different then Genkai though, to all those who thought she was like her. You'll learn more about Koranu in the next chapter when they continue with their talk. New chapters should be up on Tuesday the 3rd, and will probably be a double sized one.

My new chapter for Ashes, Ashes is also up, for all those who want to read it, and like Yaoi. This is still my main story though, and I won't work on Ashes, Ashes quite as much. In fact, I'm not really all that fond of where that story is going. Oh well…

Sorry this is up so late in the day, but I went to the library after school, and then my brother had to get on the only computer with internet for homework. I finally convinced my mom to let me use her office computer, which is the one I'm typing on right now.

And you know what? Now only does it seem like most fanfic writers are girls, but most seem to be about 17-21 or so. I've seen a few more in their twenties, but only a couple above or below that. Not that many people go around saying how old they are, but still.

Anyhow, talk to you all next Tuesday!

'ream


	11. Devil Fox

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies…

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Kurama looked at her unbelievingly. "You knew I was coming? You know who I am?" 'Damn. I didn't want her to know who I really am. This could complicate things.'

Koranu shrugged slightly, taking another sip of her tea. "I didn't know much. I knew what you looked like, and your name 'Kurama.' But that's about it. I don't know where you live, I don't know what kind of family you have. Hell, I don't even know your age."

Kurama smiled slightly in relief, but Koranu mistaking the smile as a response to her little joke, smiled back. "Do you want me to tell you about myself?" he asked her, wanting to make sure she wouldn't begin to suspect his demon side. Koranu nodded to him politely, smiling slightly.

Setting down his tea on the table with a slightly sigh, he looked up at her as he careful unfolded his tale of half-truths. "My name is Shuichi Minamino, although I am often referred to as Kurama." This much was true, in the least. It wasn't actually lying, it just wasn't telling the whole truth. "I am eight years old and I live alone with my mother. I have always known that I have an abnormally large amount of ki. A while back I had a run-in with a demon, and since I have become involved with the demon and spirit worlds." This was practically true. He did recently meet Hiei, which caused him to renew his relationship with the demon world. The fox had never actually said that that was his first time he learned about demons. "I knew I needed training, so I tracked you down, thinking that you sounded like a teacher compatible with my own personality. And so, here I am."

Koranu nodded thoughtfully at his story, taking sips of tea as she listened. When he finished, she spoke up. "It seems like you're a decent person, and you're right, I do agree that our personalities are similar. That should make things easier. My clairvoyant abilities seem wonderful, but I can't control what information I want, and it usually never includes the entire truth." 'More then you know,' Kurama thought at her.

"Now that we know more about each other, do you still wish to become my student?" At Kurama's nod, she continued. "Good. I think you will be an exceptional pupil, so I'm perfectly willing to have you, so long as you agree to the terms I've already said. Now, when would you like to begin your training?"

"As soon as possible," Kurama told the startled teacher. "Now is fine, or we can wait until later. Whichever you prefer."

Indicating her head to the door, she told the fox, "we might as well begin now. Today I'll just inspect your ki and teach you basic meditating for you to do in your own time. Come, let's go sit in the studio."

Koranu stood up as her new student fallowed, and went into the red room they had passed through before. Sitting down in the middle of the floor, the woman motioned for Kurama to sit on the floor across from her. He obeyed, sitting down with graceful motions, letting his knees give out from under him. Tucking his feet underneath the rest of his small, childhood body, he looked up at his teacher expectantly.

"First," she told him, "we're going to begin by examining your ki. I want you to close your eyes and imagine your skin radiating with heat." Kurama closed his eyes and followed her directions as she told him them. "Imagine a ball of light in the center of your chest, that's radiating heat. The heat flows out of your body and into the air around you. Good. Now, allow the heat to get further and further away from your body. Allow it to continue to expand, always coming from your center." There was a slight pause, as Kurama followed her directions. Had it been his first time doing this, he would have struggled. But unknown to his teacher, Kurama was very experienced at letting his aura expand.

"What?" Koranu gasped startled, and from the shift in the air, the fox could tell that she was leaning forward toward him, as if trying to get a better look.

"What is it?" he asked her, opening his eyes and letting his aura decrease in size.

"Well, that explains a lot," she said, sitting back again and shaking her head, eyes closed. "You see, for some reason, you don't have ki, but youki instead. Demon energy."

Kurama gasped as he too leaned back, his hands dropping behind him to support his back. 'Shit!' he thought venomously. 'I totally forgot about that! Of course she's going to notice I have youki. I always knew I did, but I forgot that other readers are able to sense it! How am I going to explain this?'

Koranu, once again mistaking his actions for that of surprise, nodded. "Although I'm not exactly sure of exactly why, there are a couple possibilities. For one, you might be part demon and that blood is just resurfacing through you after a couple generations. The more likely of the two, is you're the reincarnation of a demon." Kurama did his best to remain if not impassive, then how Koranu expected him to look. He prayed over and over again in his head that Koranu would not figure out his secret.

But Koranu simply shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "Either way, the situation doesn't change. Youki isn't that different from ki, so we shouldn't have any trouble changing a couple of the exercises and things to better suit your situation." Glancing at the fox's nervous face, she smiled softly at him. "Don't worry. Having youki isn't a big deal. And it will actually make you a good deal stronger." Kurama nodded, and although he was still nervous, he knew Koranu wouldn't hate him, even if she did find out his secret.

"Now," she said to Kurama, drawing him back out of his thoughts. "I'm going to show you some meditation to practice….."

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"Good, Kurama," Koranu told him. "That's excellent." Then, seeing that her exercises were wearing out her pupil, told him, "That's enough for today. You can open your eyes now."

Kurama followed her directions, blinking slightly in the bright light, letting his eyes adjust. "How did I do?" he questioned his teacher.

"Very well," she told him. "For your first lesson, you are really exceptional. The control you have over your youki is really amazing for someone so young."

The fox knew that this was due to his previous life, but he refrained from comment. The less Koranu knew, the safer she was. And the more likely she would continue giving lessons.

Bowing slightly, Kurama turned to the older woman. "Thank you very much for this lesson, sensei. It was a great honor."

Koranu chuckled slightly and ruffled the top of his read locks. Already, the two were becoming the best student and teacher they could. "You're very welcome, Kurama. I just don't know why anyone would want lessons from an old, ugly toad like me." The red head had to chuckle along with her at this comment. There was no farther description from Koranu then that she had just named.

Glancing quickly at his small, black watch which named the time six, the fox turned to his new teacher. "When should I come back, sensei? Next week?"

"Yes," she told him. "Next week will be fine. Should we do the same time?" Kurama nodded his consent agreeably. It would be a bit of a trick trying to get away from his mother, but it would be worth it. 

"Thank you," he told her, walking over and opening the paper door that lead out into the front courtyard. "I shall see you next week."

Koranu nodded to him and replied, "Next week then. Take care." Closing the door behind him, Kurama trotted down the two steps to the ground, and then down the hundreds of steps that lead to the road.

He sighed contently to himself as he advanced. 'Today went beautifully,' he thought happily. 'Koranu will be a wonderful teacher. She's very wise, even if she isn't quite as old as I am.'

He found the train station down the road, and sat down to wait for the last train of the day, swinging his small legs underneath him on the wooden bench. 'It's interesting,' he thought to himself, 'That Koranu would want to die. I'm nearly three times older then she is, yet I have no real desire to end my life. I never have.

'Perhaps it's the youko in me, demanding I live, with my survival instincts so strong. Animals do have a remarkable natural will to live, no matter what happens to them. Humans are the only animals that really commit suiside for the sake of dieing.

'Or maybe that it's the fact that I already have died once before. But that kind of defeats the purpose of wanting to die. She wants do die because she's old and tired of seeing so much life taken. She has seen so much, she'd just like to forget it. But with the way I died, none of that happened. I still have all my youko memories, as painful as they are. So, in a sense, I haven't really died at all, I just changed bodies.

'But a part of my youko self has died along with that body. My cruelty is gone, along with my much of my anger and other evil feelings. You might say that my youko self is the devil side of me. Sometimes I can still hear it speaking up, though, so perhaps "dead" is not the right word for it. It's almost as though we're two separate people, occupying one body. My youko self is like those cartoons when the main character has two creatures sitting on it's shoulders, a devil and an angel.

'The devil is like my demon self, telling me to do cruel and painful things. Things that would be normally classified as bad.

'But what is my angel self? Where did it go? Or did I never even have one at all…is my good side not in existence? Am I nothing but devil? Have I nothing at all……but Youko Kurama? 

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Hey,

I'm having a crappy day. I was supposed to go out to dinner, then my mom changed her mind. Then I found out my dog has cancer and is going to die within two weeks. I love my life.

And as to all you people who argued with my 17-21 years thing, I'm not saying that there aren't any people above or below. In fact, I know quite a few from 13-15 too. This is just the MAJORITY!!! So is the girls thing. I have a lot of favorite authors who are guys, just the MAJORITY is girls. Not a huge deal. I'm just saying what I've noticed.

That's it for now. My eyes hurt from crying and my head feels stuffy.

Bye

Dream Fox


	12. The Puppy and the Fox

Disclaimer: Yada yada yada. Don't own it, never have, never will, don't intend to.

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It was raining. It fell quickly in hard droplets, crashing towards earth like miniature meteorites, making water fly up as they hit the puddles in the dents of the sidewalk. 'How odd,' Kurama thought, listening intently to the sound of the rain and the occasional car that flew by. 'That one single raindrop makes so little difference. It creates only a pinpoint of dampness and barely a sound as it hits the earth. And yet, as these thousands and thousands of raindrops hit, they sound like a collapsing house, and all their tiny pinpoints of wet completely cover the entire world.'

The fox was walking home from Koranu's house after another grueling session of training. The rain felt nice on his sweaty body and he took off his brown sweater to enjoy the most of the cool weather. As he walked, some of the other pedestrians stared at his thin blue t-shirt and shorts, and huddled their jackets closer around them, pulling their umbrella's tighter over the tops of their heads. It was as though the very sight of Kurama getting skin soaked made them cold, regardless of the fact that the demon himself was boiling hot.

Suddenly, from behind a water-filled trashcan, Kurama heard a soft noise, barely heard over the thundering rain. Stopping to look out of pure curiosity, what the fox saw nearly broke his small heart.

There, lying behind the top of the trashcan, lay a small puppy, brown and mud-streaked from the pouring rain. As the puppy noticed him, it whimpered pitifully, trying to scrunch itself deeper into the corner of the fence and trash. The demon/human knelt down, trying to make himself smaller and less menacing so as to not scare the puppy any more then it already was. 

Reaching out, Kurama picked up the small lab, and felt its tiny body quiver in the rain. 'It needs to get inside,' he thought desperately. 'He's freezing.'

Taking his sweater from around his waist, he tucked the puppy inside, bowling it up into a tiny ball and rubbing it with the sweater sleeves. "Come on," he whispered to it softly as a tiny nose stuck itself out from inside. "I'll take you home with me."

Kurama stood up as smoothly as he could so as to not jumble his tiny package and set off towards his house at a quicker pace then before. When he reached his rain soaked door, he pushed it open with one arm, carefully balancing the sweater rapped puppy in his left hand.

His mother was sitting at the kitchen table, drink a steaming cup of hot tea and reading thick book. She looked up as the door opened and a gust of wind pushed its way inside. "Oh, Shuichi!" she said, smiling at the boy. "Would you like some tea, love?"

Then, she noticed the wet sweater ball in his hands move slightly. "What's that you've got there?" she asked, frowning in curiosity.

"A puppy," he told her, unwrapping the sweater enough for the chocolate labs head to poke out from the top. His mother smiled in joy as he carefully handed her the bundle for him to take off his mud-stained shoes. "I found him huddled by a trashcan a couple blocks down. I thought I'd take care of him at least until the rain stops."

"He certainly is a cute thing," she said, handing him back to her son. "You're welcome to keep him as long as you need to."

Kurama smiled fondly at his mother, clutching the puppy close. "Thank you, Mother," he said, skipping up the stairs by twos. 

"You need a bath," he told the pup, wrinkling his nose in distaste at the putrid odor. He went into the bath room and, carefully unwrapping the puppy from the dirty sweater, set him carefully in the bath. Then, he turned on the tap water to warm and let it run on top of the mud-soaked puppy.

When at last the water was a couple inches high, he turned off the tab. He rubbed the small lab's fur between his fingers, scratching underneath in an effort to get all the grime out. The pup whimpered a few times, but for the most part let Kurama wash him without too much fuss. 

But the little dog wouldn't stop shaking. Even after the water was nearly scalding hot, he just sat there, shaking like a earthquake and whimpering pitifully. The demon frowned, leaning closer towards the little puppy. 'He should be fine by now,' he thought worriedly. 'What's wrong with him?'

At last the pup was clean enough to suit Kurama's taste, he drained the water and scooped the shivering lab into a dry beach towel. He walked to his room and pushed the door open, holding the puppy and rubbing it dry with one corner of the wash blanket. 

Sitting on the small, shaking bundle on his bed, Kurama scrounged around in the back of his closet. When at last he found what he was looking for, he pulled out a small shoe box and a soft, fluffy blanket. Making a little basket out of the materials, he picked up the now dry, but still shaking, pup. Pressing a crater into the blanket inside the box, he laid the small dog inside and rapped the corners up around it. 

Then he set it down by his bed, next to his head. After throwing the damp and dirty towel into the wash, he pulled back his covers and lay down in bed, looking down on the puppy. It looked up at him once, its small eyes watching him sadly. Then it tucked its head down into the corner and Kurama watched as its breathing evened out as if fell asleep.

The fox sighed, curled up in a ball, his head still facing the tiny dog, and let himself fallow the pup into dreamland.

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Kurama woke up with a start. Something was wrong. He felt it like an illness in his gut and it hurt him deep inside. He rolled over and turned on the lamp, as the luminescent light made him blink his eyes.

Letting his feet drop to the ground, his right foot hit something with a start. His head jerked down in surprise, but quickly relaxed as he realized it was just the puppy's box.

Then he noticed something. The blanket wasn't moving at all, not from the puppy's shifting limbs or the slight breathing as it slept. He knelt down and peeled back the blanket.

What he found made his heart drop in heaviness. The small puppy he had worked so hard to take care of and had grown so attached to was dead. He wasn't sure exactly what killed it, but it wasn't breathing in the slightest. The animal was certainly dead, and Kurama could do not but feel responsible. 'What did I do wrong?' he wondered heavy-hearted. 'If I had done more, would the puppy have lived? Am I to blame?' But he knew, somewhere in the depths of his soul, that he couldn't have done anymore then he had. It was the puppy's time to go, and no one knew death like Kurama did. He closed his eyes and gave the soul a tiny prayer, wishing it luck on its journey to spirit world.

The next day he buried the puppy's corpse in the box it had slept in. He dug the hole exactly three feet deep so that no animals could get it, and carefully padded the top dirt when he had finished. 

And from that time on, if anyone ever walked by that ground, they would have seen one single red rose on the gave, a new one replacing it each day, like the new beginnings happening all around them.

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---- Dedicated to my dog, Otis, who will be put to sleep tomorrow because of cancer. I love you very much.


	13. Fox Talk

Disclaimer: You know the drill….

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"Very good. Now let the flower bloom in your hand," Koranu guided Kurama slowly as he held the rose in his left hand. "Imagine time speeding up for it, that the seasons are flying by in seconds, that all the nutrients it needs it can get right from your youki."

Kurama took a deep breath as he continued feed in the bud his youki, a steady stream going from his fingertips into the end of the stem. As Koranu watched, the bud slowly began to grow, deepening into a blood red, and the peddles trembled slightly as they opened, revealing the inside of a perfect rose.

As soon as the flower was at its height of maturity, Kurama stopped feeding its his youki. Slowly opening his eyes, he gasped at the sight of the gorgeous blossom. "Did I really make that?" he gasped. Koranu grinned at his shock and nodded her head, her lavender hair whirling around her head like a tornado of violet. 

"You're becoming very good at this. You really are an incredibly fast learner, particularly for one as young as ten." Kurama smiled up at his mentor in fondness. Even with their two years together she still had no clue about his long past. 'Good,' he thought, have smiling at that. 'It's better like that. I don't know how I'd live with myself if she found out and banished me.'

"Thank you for the lesson, sempai," he told her, bowing slightly as he rose slowly to his feet. But a hand on his leg stopped him and Koranu motioned him back to the ground.

"Sit back down," she told him. "We must talk."

Tired, but still curious, Kurama lowered himself back down again so he directly faced his teacher, looking carefully for any signs as to what she might say. But Koranu's face remained impassive, and her bright yellow eyes watched him carefully.

Then she took a slight breath, and Kurama instantly knew what ever she was planning to say, it would be important. He remained quite, watching his teacher as she began to speak.

"There have been rumors going around," she told him seriously. Kurama immediately stiffened. 'She doesn't know, does she? Ferret didn't talk, right?'

"People have been speaking of a group of thieves and assassins that have been stirring up quite a ruckus and gaining a lot of attention." Kurama let out a little sigh of relief, glad it had nothing to do with him. Koranu, who didn't understand the cause of his sigh, looked at him with puzzlement, but continued anyway without comment.

"They are called the Claw Thieves, and are just one piece of a large group of thieves called the Killer. Each smaller group is named after a piece of a youko. For example, in addition to the Claw, there is the Paw, the Tail, the Fang, and so on and so forth."

"What does this have to do with us?" Kurama asked, starting to get slightly impatient.

"I have been hired by a private party to kill off the entire Claw," she told him, looking down at the floor boards, trying to avoid his eye.

"The entire group?" Kurama asked in surprise. "How many are there in a group?"

"No one but the group itself knows," the Willow told the fox unsmiling. "But it could really be anywhere from twenty to three hundred."

"Three hundred?" Kurama gaped at his teacher. "You have to kill a group of professional assassins and thieves, and all three hundred of them? That's suicide!"

Koranu shrugged slightly. "Maybe," she answered. Then she grinned wildly at him. "But I'm not doing it alone."

"Who's going to help you?" he asked puzzled. 'Koranu-sensei has a partner?'

His teacher gave him a pointed look, and suddenly Kurama realized just what she had in mind. "Oh, no!" he said, throwing his hands in front of him like a shield to block the very idea. "You've done a whole lot for me over the last couple of years, sensei, and I appreciate it, I really do. But I don't want to get involved with thieves! My own mother doesn't even know I come here, I don't want her to find out about the other worlds THIS way."

Koranu pouted slightly, which looked very cute in her beautiful, young body and Kurama found his resistance swaying already. 'It's so hard to forget how old she is,' he thought to himself. 'Her body looks no more then twenty-five years old.' Then he pointedly remembered his own situation. 'Okay, looks can be deceiving. My own body is enough proof of that. I'm, what, over a thousand years old? My body is that of a ten-year old's. I doubt anyone looks less like their age then I do.'   

"Come on, Shuichi-chan!" she whined cutely. "Don't be such a spoil sport! It'll be fun!"

He scoffed visibly at her remark. "Fun, indeed."

"Besides," she said, wagging a finger accusingly at him. "You owe me for these lessons. They're free, remember?"

Kurama grudgingly admitted that this was true. 'I really do owe her a lot. She's helped me so much, I really should find a way to repay her somehow."

The fox let out a deep sigh, and it seemed as if Koranu already knew that she had won, for she grinned even longer as he looked at her ruefully. "Alright, fine," he gave in. "I'll do it. But this is my payment for all the lessons."

She grinned cheerfully at him. "Agreed," she chirped, putting out her right hand to shake. Kurama couldn't help but grin back at her, as they shook hardily, sealing the bargain with their tough and callused palms.

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Hey everyone!

Thank you for all the sympathies about my dog. I'm feeling much better now, but that's probably also because I got a puppy last Saturday! That's one of the reasons I haven't had much of a chance to write, I've been so busy between carrying for her and taking all my finals. What a hectic week!

Because summer is starting, updates will probably come more often, but I will no longer be able to say exactly when I'm putting something up. It just depends on any trips I have planned, camps, where I am, if I feel like writing, etc. Sorry for making it so confusing.

I'll be able to guess about when an update will be up, though. Next chapter will probably be up on Saturday the 14th, give or take a day or two. Sorry I'm not so spasific. Chapters for other stories will be up on Thursday, and I think I'm updating Ashes, Ashes and Fire Thief. 

Also, I have a new story I've started writing. Unfortunately, I haven't put it up yet, because I don't think it'll be that big of a hit. It's another YYH Kurama and Hiei, although I'm not sure if it will be romance yet. I'll just have to wait and see. Let me know if anyone wants to hear about it. I can tell you all in the next chapter notes.

-Dream Fox


	14. Drive to the Otherside

Disclaimer: You know the drill….

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"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport?" Mrs. Minamino asked apprehensively as her son hauled a large black duffle bag down the stairs with a few pounding thuds. 

"That's okay, Mother," Kurama huffed, hauling the bag up onto his small shoulder. "One of my teachers is going to pick me up."

"My, my, door to door service, most impressive," she teased as Kurama opened the door. The fox smiled back at her, but didn't comment.

'I really do hate lying to her, but I don't have any choice! I could be gone for weeks, and I need some kind of excuse! A school trip just seemed the most logical…..' he thought worriedly.

But he was soon pulled out of his troubled thoughts by a blue truck that swung up on the front driveway of the house. The window rolled down, revealing a casually dressed Koranu, her hair up in a high ponytail wearing purple sunglasses. Kurama almost fell over in surprise; Koranu wearing SUNGLASSES?!?! The thought of his three hundred year old teacher keeping up with shades was almost impossible to imagine, and yet here she was, acting just like a normal human.

"Is that your teacher?" his mother asked from the doorway, Koranu looking out and smiling at both of them. "She sure is young."

"Uh, she's older then she looks," Kurama stuttered, looking for a good excuse, but was saved by a kiss that his mother planted on his head.

"You have a good time, Shuichi dear," his mother smiled down at him, patting his long hair affectionately. "Bring me back a souvenir."

Kurama grinned up at her. "Thanks, mother," he said, kissing her cheek lightly. "I'll see you later!" he called, hopping down the few stone steps, past the small garden, and up to the blue truck. His mother waved a little, and watched him for a moment. 

"Throw your stuff in the back!" Koranu yelled at him out of the window as he walked up to the door. Making a slight detour, he tossed the bag over the edge with a hard push, and hopped inside, taking a seat on the soft cushion. He waved a little to his mother, and they slowly pulled out of the driveway, down the street, and out of sight.

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"So," Kurama said, pulling his head back inside from looking out the window and turning to his mentor. "I didn't know you kept up so much with the times. Your hair is up, AND you have sunglasses…. and purple ones at that! Goodness!"

Koranu grinned and turned the wheel, pulling onto the highway and speeding up. "And I brought packs and packs of 'the fruit of the gods'!"

"Coke!" Kurama cried happily, grinning from ear to ear. "Not diet, right?" he asked suspiciously.

Koranu scoffed. "Are you kidding? Why have diet when you can go all out and get as sugary as you can?!?!" and Kurama laughed in joy. Both he and Koranu had an undying love for one of the most sugary of all sodas, although it was perhaps because of the sugar they liked it so. It was commonly known that sugar gave you energy, so if you needed a power blast, there were few things, demonic or otherwise, that gave you the power blast like sugar.

"So how are we going to get to the Makai, anyway?" the fox asked, popping open a can of coke and sipping on it sparingly.

"Hand me one of those, will you?" Koranu cut in, motioning to the cooler that held the coke, as Kurama tossed her a can. It wasn't until she had opened it with a click and fizzle of carbonation, took a deep sip, licked her lips for any extra droplets, and wiped her mouth on one long sleeve, that she answered. "There's a portal just a few hours from here," she told him, keeping her eyes on the road as she spoke. "It's nearly impossible to get through portals these days with all the tight restrictions and things, but I pulled a few strings and the portal is just 'coincidentally' going to be unguarded today when we arrive. If we can slip through undetected, we'll be just fine. It's easier to go into the Makai then to get back out. We might have a spot of trouble there, but it should be okay."

"Alright," Kurama said, leaning back into the cushiony chair, continuing to lightly sip at his coke and watching the road thoughtfully.

They sat there in silence for a few moments, drinking coke as Koranu drove and Kurama watched the road. After some time, Kurama finished his coke, stuck the empty can in one of the back seats, and pulled out another coke, opened it, and went back to drinking.

"Hey, Shuichi?" Koranu began.

"Yeah?" Kurama answered, glancing over at his teacher as she continued to watch the road.

"Did I ever tell you about my past?" she asked, straining to act casual.

Kurama glanced sharply over at her, then looked back out onto the open pavement. "No," he answered, trying to be equally laid-back.

"Would you like to know?"

"Alright."

"I suppose," she said, sighing. "That I should start from the beginning…."

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Hello everyone,

New chapter's up! Sorry it's so late, but the old dates were originally messed up, and then I went on a trip, and ….. well ….. yeah. Okay, I can make lots and lots of excuses, but I suppose that won't really make up for it, will it? Anyhow, my next chapter should be up really soon, since I'm around a lot for the next week, and I can't wait to write the next chapter! Probably on Friday the 27th, or so, give or take a day!

I went on a house boating trip last weekend! It was a lot of fun, and I got to go wakeboarding and stuff, which was really awesome. Only trouble is that now I'm REALLY sore, like it hurts to move. Only thing I can do is type, which is why working on my stories is so convient. Talking about my stories, read my other stuff!!! It's really good, I'm going to start updating more often. I'm getting more into Ashes, Ashes, because I've got a really awesome idea for it! Yay!

Anyhow, talk soon!

-Dream Fox


	15. A Tail to Tell

Disclaimer: Who cares? Is anyone actually reading this, anyway?

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"It began, I suppose, when I was born, around three hundred years ago. I'm sorry I cannot be anymore specific then that, but I've lost track of time. The world I lived in was complete and utter chaos. There was a government, surely, but it was weak and had almost no control over our lives. 

"My mother was young, and died at my birth and I was left with my father, an only child. He was a good man, I suppose, a farmer by nature, and I grew up in fields of plants, surrounded by animals and the smell of outdoors. I suppose my father let me be a bit more wild then was appropriate for a young lady, and I grew up as wild and as free as the very animals I played with.

"When I turned 16, my father decided that it was time for me to marry. It was an arranged marriage, as were almost all back then, and my father and I went into town to meet my husband, an older man of about 30 who owned a tavern in town. Naturally, I opposed the whole thing, but being a woman, I had little say in the situation.

"But, a night before the wedding, something happened. In the middle of the night, we awoke to the smell of burning wood and found that the entire town was burning down upon our heads. There was no time to get out, and everyone in the small village died. Every child, every woman, every man, every person. Not a single person was spared. Except for, of course, me.

"But it was no coincidence that I alone survived. I was saved, if you can call it that, by a youko who went by the name of Noramu. He was a panther thief, and I found out later, that it had been his clan that had burned down my village. Noramu had fallen in love with me in my time growing up, and had taken this chance to kidnap me. 

"In shall come as no surprise that I did not love him, nor should I ever. I went mad in those few months after the burning, and I remember little of it. I am told I even tried to rip off my ears, and they had to bind my hands to make sure I didn't do worse damage. 

"Eventually, Noramu grew tired of me and my ravings. He had wanted a pretty slave, a "sex kitten" might be an appropriate word for it. Instead, he ended up with a mad girl who tried to rip her own flesh apart. Finally, in a last attempt to change me, he did something that had never been attempted before: he tried to change me into a demon.

"The process was extremely painful, but I remember little else. The experiment, though, as you can see, failed. Or at least that's what they thought. Although my outside body remained almost exactly the same, my mind had become somewhat…. stronger. As soon as I realized what had happened, I went on a bit of a mad killing spree. I murdered everyone in Noramu's clan, including him, with only my body and my ki. My ki, although it had not actually turned into youki, had become much easier for me to manipulate and I found that the easiest thing for me to control was plants, particularly trees, as my main element had always been wood. 

"When at last, each and every living thing there was dead, I lay in the outlying forests, waiting to die. I did not end my life there, though, and I was found by a group of wondering mercenaries known as the Knights. The Knights themselves were a rather odd group as it was, and they had no problem taking in a pretty, young, warrior like me into their own caravan. 

"It was there I spent most of my days. It didn't take long for the rest of the troupe and I to realize that I didn't age. I quickly became one of the oldest in the group, although I still appeared to be pretty young. The fact that I was a good fighter, mixed with my young, female appearances made me one of the best of the mercenaries, as all of the enemies had the tendency to underestimate me. I had many adventures with the Knights, too many for me to describe, but it was a bloody and wonderful life….." 

"Why did you leave then?" Kurama asked, interrupting for the first time. "How did you end up here if you loved the thrill of battle so much?"

Koranu sighed deeply. "Remember I told you how it had taken me, many, many years to realized the horror of killing without remorse? About a hundred years ago, the Knights faced an opponent known only as the Snatcher, for it was said that when you met him, your life would be snatched away from you like it wasn't even yours to have. He actually wasn't that hard of an opponent, but that wasn't what was so terrifying about him. The Snatcher was the only demon I've ever met who could kill completely without remorse. Lives meant nothing to him. It wasn't even that he'd kill for fun like so many demons do. He simply DIDN'T CARE. Lives just didn't matter.

"It was then I left the Knights. I had lived longer then any other Knight in existence, and I was tired of that bloody life. I had realized that I was becoming dangerously close to becoming a beast like the Snatcher. It wasn't that I enjoyed killing, I just no longer carried whether or not people lived or died. I suppose it's like that for many people who have lived as long as I have. Life loses it's wonder after time."

'It's true,' Kurama thought to himself. 'What she says is very true.'

"So I bought a temple in the human world, a place with little violence or torture, or at least little compared to the Makai. And I've spent my remaining days here, living the life of peace and comfort like I haven't had since my childhood."

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Hey!

New chapter up! This chapter was fun to write, because I got to make so much up! Yayyyy!!!

Next chapter will be up soon, probably on Wednesday or so, but I'm really unsure. My schdule is really confusing right now. And it's so hot here! Around 100!!!! I'm boiling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk 'oon,

Dream Fox


	16. Through to the Otherside

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies

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The two sat in silence for a few minutes, looking out at the open highway. It wasn't a comfortable silence, but neither was it uncomfortable. There was almost a tense air hanging about them, like a rain cloud hovers over a city. Koranu, Kurama knew, wanted nothing more then acceptance. But for Kurama it wasn't that simple. 

'I know more then she does. She's the ignorant one here, which means that more off this situation is in my power. But with that power comes a price. She's given me her trust and told me of her past. What now? Do I tell her of mine? What fallows after 'the ending?' Is it happily ever after? No, not with a story like that. No matter how the story ends, the rest is too sad to change the rest of the story. Her life was not a happy one. IS not a happy one. But what of my story? How does my story end?'

"I have a question," Kurama finally asked. There was more to this simple question then just that. It was an invisible sign of acceptance. Even with the familiarity between the two of them, they still played this diplomatically game of tongues. How sad.

Koranu let out a quick sigh before asking, "What's that?" Her voice stayed composed and impassive, but there was obviously relief behind her own question.

"I was told by … the … uh … person who informed me about you, that you had become a demon by "accident," and I'm fairly sure he wouldn't have gotten mixed up information," Kurama asked, struggling the part with Ferret, not wanting to reveal any information to his unsuspecting teacher.

"That answer's easy enough," Koranu told him. "After some time passed and Spirit World found out about my transformation (because I didn't die), I was commanded by them to keep my change a secret. Because, they said, if it got out to the rest of the world, all of the rich humans who knew of the other worlds, would want to become a half breed like me. As far as we've been able to tell, it has no real bad effects, and expands life spans considerably, perhaps making the person immortal if they aren't killed by things other then natural effects. 

"Basically, they didn't want it getting out that it was possible to make a human a demon PURPOSELY. It would have created too much trouble, and it's not too hard for me to say otherwise. I never had any real problem with lying about it, and the few people who once knew about it are long dead."

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"Is this the place?" Kurama asked, as Koranu swung the truck onto the side of a dirt road they had been traveling on for some time.

"It's a little bit of a walk," she told him, swinging back a leaver to break, "but it's not far."

Hopping out of the truck and slamming the door closed with a bang, Kurama trotted over to the back and pulled out his duffle bag.

"I hate to say this, but you can't bring all of that with you," Koranu told him, as he unzipped the top and undid various buttons and the like. "It's a bit of a walk, and we'll be walking quite a bit when we get there."

"I know that," Kurama told her. "THIS is for me to wear."

He pulled out a long green Chinese style suit, with baggy pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a thick sleeved tank top to go over, with lightly embroidered leaves on it. Koranu gasped slightly as he showed her it. (a/n kind of picture the outfit that he's wearing in the dark tournament, the white and yellow one. Good, now imagine that in a dark, forest green)

"It looks a bit fancy, I know," he told her sheepishly. "But it's the best thing for fighting I own, plus it has lots of pockets for odds and ends."

Then he took out an odd array of various weapons, gloves, potions, a first aid kit of his own making, and enough food to last a week, but small enough to carry in just a small bag that he brought. Then, to Koranu's own embarrassment, he proceeded to strip down and put on his own outfit. He may have been young, but he was still a VERY good looking kid, and going shirtless was not exactly a typical thing in the human world.

"Alright, I'm ready," he told her, patting one of his side pockets comfortingly. 

Koranu raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that really all your bringing?" she eyed him suspiciously, looking at his small bag and outfit.

Kurama uncharacteristically rolled his eyes at her. "A moment ago you were worried that I had too much! Make up your mind already, or worry about yourself!"

"Okay, okay," she raised her arms in defeat. Then, after a second of silence, asked, "But you do have a blanket, right? I'm not sharing my sleeping bag with you, you know."

"Koranu!" he yelled.

"Sorry!" she apologized, grinning at him. "Come on, the portal's this way."

It only took a moment of walking to reach the globe of swirling blue that lead to the Demon Lands. It was suspended in mid air, about a foot and a half off the dirt ground beneath it. It looked random and obscure out in the middle of the forest with nothing around it.

"Kind of a random thing," Kurama commented, voicing my own narration.

Koranu chuckled darkly. "Be happy there aren't guards like usually. It took some tricks to make sure that they wouldn't be here for the hour that we're leaving."

"We'd better get going then," Kurama told her, walking up to the portal, watching it carefully.

"Hold on, Shuichi," she stopped him, as he turned around to face her. Out of one of her side pockets, she revealed a simple white envelope. "This is for you. Should anything happen to me, I want you to open it. Otherwise, I want it back, with the seal UNBROKEN, do you understand." She was very forceful, and Kurama knew it'd be best to listen to her, as he took the envelope and tucked it inside one of his shirt pockets.

"NOW do we go?" he asked.

"Yes," she told him, grabbing his hand as she flung them in. "NOW we go!"

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Hey, hey, hey!

New chapter up again! I liked doing this chapter a lot, particularly the beginning. It's so much fun to write deep thoughts! Well, if you can call those deep thoughts. Maybe, it's just a bit philosophical. Whatever.

I'm writing this on Wednesday, but I can't put it up to tomorrow, so I'm sorry! There was a bit of a schedule change, so I didn't know when I'd get access to a computer with internet. 

Summer here is boring, so there's nothing much to talk about. It's starting to cool off a bit, which is nice, but it's still really hot. I've been doing a lot of painting lately, and I've recently gotten into the RPG Diablo II. I'm doing pretty good, considering that I've really not played very many games aside from a bit of Zelda. Heck, the only gaming system I've got is a Nintendo 64! Yipe, that's ancient! I'd really like a Play Station II though. Maybe for Christmas….. gah! I'm already thinking about Christmas! Maybe the heat really is melting my brains!

I'm going to go soak my head in a bucket of water…… talk soon!

Dream Fox


	17. Nose in the Dirt

Disclaimer: I don't own YYH yada yada yada no one can sue me yada yada yada nana nana nana

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Going through a portal is an indescribable thing, because there's nothing else in all the three worlds like it. When you land on the other side, tumbling out with a thud, it seems that going through the portal is almost instantaneous. But then, as you continue thinking about it, you know that you're missing something. That maybe, something happened in the portal, but it's been sealed off from you mind, like an invisible wall that you know is there and something is behind it, but you can't pass the wall to find out what it is.

I suppose it'd be similar to going through a black hole, only not getting killed and smashed into one infinitely small particle in the process. 

Koranu and Kurama came tumbling out of the blue portal, landing in the dirt and sliding across the ground, making dust fly about them like a cloud of smoke.

Kurama sat up and gasped in the smoke, coughing heartily from the dust and grime. "Are you alright?" Koranu asked him, sitting up and blinking rapidly, trying to get dust out of her eyes.

Kurama nodded, still hacking away, completely forgetting Koranu couldn't see him with all the dirt flying around. 

As they waited for the dust to clear a bit, Kurama glanced around, then noticed something very peculiar as the dust floated softly away on the wind. "Er, Koranu?" he asked, as the woman glanced over his way. "I think there's a problem with the portal of something. Look, were back where we started."

The lavender haired woman chuckled slightly, shaking her head at his ignorance. "No, were in the Makai," she told him, standing up and giving him her dirt covered hand, hauling him up from the forest floor with ease. "You see, portals are a little like mirrors. They go from one place to another, but only when those places are, if not exactly the same, then similar. In order to travel from the woods into the Makai, you need to land in a forest in the Makai. If you wanted to go from a beach in the Makai, you'd need to land in a similar beach in the human realms. That's why Japan is the most common place for demons in the human world, because it's the most similar to the Makai in geographical arrangement."

"Ah," Kurama nodded in understanding, brushing off some of the dirt from his clothes. "I see now."

"Come on," she jerked her head and rotated her body so her back faced the portal and him. "We've got a long way to go, and I want to get there in just two of three days."

"Jeez," Kurama mumbled to himself as he fallowed her into the deep of the woods. I was hopping we'd be back in a week or two."

"No such luck, kid," she grinned at him, as they headed up a small hill. "Now, less talkin' and more walkin'! Here, have a coke," she tossed him one.

Kurama snatched it out of the air and sarcastically rolled his eyes. "The answer to all life's problems: COKE." But he didn't resist, just popped open the top, and gulped down the cool beverage into his dry and dusty throat.

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 "Alright, let's stop here," Koranu dropped her bag onto the ground with a large, heavy thud. "Much closer and it'd be dangerous."

In the three days and two nights they had traveled, Kurama asked very little about the upcoming mission, knowing his teacher would tell him when the time came. But now he frowned in curiosity and suspicion. 

"We're really that close?" he frowned.

"Yeah, they live just a mile and a half away, or so," she told him, starting to unpack some of her stuff, pulling out food, blankets, and another assortment of things.

Kurama plopped down into the dirt next to her, frowning as she took out two silver daggers. "Oh. Where do they live, anyway?"

"In a cave," the willow told him.

Raising an eyebrow, he asked, partly sarcastic, "these are some of the best thieves and assassins anywhere in the three worlds and they live in a cave?"

Koranu smiled slightly, "NO, the entrance to their lair is a cave. Where they live are underground tunnels, that are actually extremely extensive, going about a mile wide."

The fox raised an eyebrow in interest. "Really? How did they manage to make that?"

Koranu sighed in annoyance. "What's with the third degree? I'll tell you everything soon. For now, just help me make camp."

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Hey everyone!

I know, I know, it's been a really long time since I've written, but I've had a severe case of writer's block, and I really have to hurry and finish this chapter, cause I have to go any minute, but if I don't get it up now, then I can't post it until Tuesday. By the way, that's when the next chapter will be up, along with a new Fire Thief, so stay tuned!

Talk soon, and sorry for the short chapter!

Dream Fox


	18. Firelight Chat

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother?

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Kurama pulled his legs tighter up to his body, huddling next to the small fire for warmth. The blaze was small and produced little heat, due to the fact Koranu refused to build it much bigger. Any smoke at all would be dangerous and would attract unwanted attention. "The point," she had said, "is to be as silent and stealthy as possible. We're dealing with thieves and assassins, the best of the best as far as craftiness goes, not to mention they're part of the Beast. If we're going to outfox them, we're going to have to be a step ahead at all times."

Koranu was sitting on the opposite side of the flame, watching the fire burn in a kind of trance, her bright, cat like eyes burned even brighter with the orange light dancing across her glazed expression.

"Hey, Koranu," he said, breaking the magic and peace of the moment, wincing slightly at the sound of his voice ruining it, but knowing it must be said.

"Yes?" she asked softly, lifting her flame flickering face up to meet his own, bright green orbs.

"You have to tell me about the Claws. You say we have to be careful and stealthy, but I know absolutely nothing of their organization. How can I rise up to their level of knowledge if I know about as much of them as they do of astronomical physics."

"Astronomical physics?" the lavender haired woman's face twisted into confusion at his words, her eyebrows furrowing together, lips puckering in contemplation. Then, a wide grin broke through her mask of puzzlement, reaching up into her brightly lit eyes, bringing the fire out as deeply as a knife cuts into one's body. She shook her head, chuckling softly. "Kurama," she laughed. "Sometimes I wonder if you're ten or if your ten thousand."

The fox froze at this comment, his breathing becoming heavy, but forcing himself to chuckle along with her. He knew she would recognize the catch in his throat, but he knew his teacher well enough to know she wouldn't point it out.

She shook her head, breaking off the humor, as she looked back into the firelight, as though she saw something there, something that was invisible to everyone but her. "So," she said softly. "You wish to know about the claws." It wasn't a question.

"Well, yeah," he shrugged. "How else can I battle them?"

"Ah, but it isn't battling that we want. You would have to be a horrible beast to beat all of the Claws in a flat out battle, particularly since there are so many of them. No, we want to aim for stealth. Use deceit, trickery, lies, bribery, stealth, and any other form of deception, things that most people would think of as unfair and immoral. But when you deal with people that have no sense of honor, you can't afford honor either. Having morals are well and good, but there comes a time in every warrior's life, where you must cast away such things, or die. This is a true test for any warrior, but we don't have time to be kind."

"Then you have to tell me, Koranu," Kurama told her, leaning forward, desperate in his persuasion. "How can I trick them, when I don't even know what they'll fall for. The eagle can't convince the tiger how to fly unless he knows what the tiger's own nature is!"

She sighed deeply. "You're right, of course. I know I'll have to tell you about them, that it's that, or we both die. But understand, Kurama, once you know about them, that's it. You're involved. They're going to try and hunt you down, kill you, or even kill your mother or friends, just because if you know, you're dangerous. Once you know, you're a threat, and I can't tell you what's to come. We might kill all of them, only to find that the rest of the Beast knows and we have assassins on our tails for the rest of our lives. I can live like that, but you, Shuichi, you're still young, you've got your whole life ahead of you. I'd never forgive myself it I ruined it."

"No, Koranu," the fox shook his head. "I've always been destined to be mixed up in demon affairs. I was born with youki, right? Don't blame it on yourself if I die, it was just destiny. Besides," he said with a wolfish grin, "I'm older then I look."

"Ah," Koranu teased. "An old soul, are you?"

"You have no idea. So, give me the 411, already."

"Very well. As you know, our target is the Claw Thieves, a group of ruthless thieves and assassins, one part of the Beast, the largest and most powerful organization on the wrong side of the law. They deal in drugs, magic, stolen items, stolen money, murder, and just about anything else you can think of that a demonic mafia would do. The Claw is the forth largest of seven parts of the beast, with about fifty or so demons involved, most of them deal in assassinations. They live in underground caves and caverns, that may sound barbaric, but are actually incredibly advanced. We were hired for this job by an anonymous source for an unknown reason."

"Isn't that awfully suspicious sounding?" Kurama asked, one eyebrow raised.

Koranu shrugged. "Maybe," she said," but it's also one of the safest. If one of us gets captured and tortured, we can't reveal anything about our employer, so he's safe from discovery, and assassination."

"So," Kurama began, leaning back slightly on his bed roll. "When do we begin our hunting and tracking?"

"Tomorrow," Koranu told him darkly, her face dancing with the shadows of the flame. "We shall begin our study on the morrow."

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Okay, everyone!

New chapter's up! Sorry it was late, but like I said, I've had some writer's block lately, and there isn't much one can do for that. Besides, it's summer! I have a right to be lazy!

I know, I know, everyone thinks this was really short, but everyone says that to all the chapters! I just can't sit down and right 2000 words every few days! Hey, you try it!

Also, Fire Thief will be updated today, tomorrow, the day after, or something like that. I dunno, I've started the chapter, but I'm having a hard time continuing. Also, I've been planning a new story, so that should be up within the next few days.

Another chapter of Fox Child will be in by around Friday or so! Stay tuned for the beginning of the planning!

Talk soon and thanks for listening to me blabber!

Dream Fox


	19. UPDATE!

Hello Everyone!  
  
It's me again! I hate to tease you so much, but once again there is NO UPDATE today!!! There will, however be a new update for Fox Child on Thursday November 20th, and a Fire Child update on Tuesday November 25th. In addition, a new YYH story will be up as well on the 20th, and my new DEMON DIARY story was just posted today! Stay tuned for more of everything, and I promise.  
  
THIS TIME I WILL STICK TO WHAT I SAY!!!  
  
Encouragement through reviews and email is always appreciated!  
  
Loves and kisses loyal fans, and thanks through helping me through my writers block! Once again, I am INSPIRED!!!  
  
Dream Fox 


	20. Fox's Black

Disclaimer: *dream fox gives deer in the headlights look*  
  
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"Okay here's the plan" Koranu began abruptly. The morning air was crisp and cool in the shadows of the overhanging trees, and dew clung to every tree branch like a baby clings to its mother.  
  
"For starters, we've got to get information on the leaders, and anyone else important. We want to find someone who's on the outs with the Claw, preferably someone inside the organization. They may be the best in the business as far as the wrong side of the law goes, but they're just as subjected to bribery as any other person, perhaps even more so, considering they're demons, thus more greedy, and they're thieves, used to disobeying the rules. It won't be easy to find a demon who really has so little loyalty to the organization. They're generally a tight knit little group, who have a lot of faith from pulling each other out of scrapes. They'd have to be like that, or they wouldn't last ten years. "  
  
"So how do we get at them?" Kurama asked, frowning thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, normally I'd say we should go undercover, but in it won't work with as tightly knit as they are. We'd never be able to learn enough information to pull it off soon."  
  
"So what does that leave us with?"  
  
Koranu grinned viciously, baring all her straight, pearly teeth. "Torture."  
  
Kurama looked at her for a moment in shock, before he saw the slight glint behind her eyes. "You're joking, aren't you?" he asked, just to be sure.  
  
She smiled at him, eyes softening. "Yes. I suppose it wasn't that funny, though, was it?"  
  
Kurama shook his head. It wasn't funny. He had seen it done, he'd done it to others, and he had had it done to him. Torture jokes weren't funny anymore.  
  
"Seriously," he asked her. "What are we going to do?"  
  
She sighed slowly, letting out a deep breath. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it?"  
  
"You mean you have know idea?"  
  
Koranu grinned. "Not a clue. But don't worry, we'll figure out something. If worse comes to worse, we'll call in the cavalry."  
  
"Cavalry?"  
  
"Back-up. I'll call in the favors, see if anyone knows anybody in the Beast, is part of it, or can do anything that'll help us."  
  
"Fine," Kurama agreed, "but we have to take action first. What do we do?"  
  
"First thing is to set up some kind of listening device in part of the cavern. You know, something to just hear what they're saying, know what they're going to do. This would be a lot more important if they knew about us or if it was an all out war, but it'll help us know their positioning anyway."  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
"Next we'll have to figure out the layout of their underground caverns and caves and memorize them. If for some reason we have to go down there, or one of us gets taken, we'll want to know the quickest and safest way out."  
  
"How are we going to do that?"  
  
"The safest way is to find someone who knows it already, but I can't imagine that anyone will willingly be handing that information out. They probably kill anyone who leaves them, and even if they didn't, if the word got out they told, they'd be killed then anyway."  
  
"So, what's the other, less safe way?"  
  
"There are two of those, and neither are very safe, but they're the best options we have."  
  
"And those are.?"  
  
"We could hire a spirit of some sort who specializes in this kind of stuff, like exploring cursed tombs and stuff. It'd cost a pretty penny, but we'd know it'd be accurate. The other downside of it is if the spirit gets caught and tortured, well, lets just say there are very few people who wouldn't give away that kind of information under that much pressure."  
  
The fox nodded agreeably, knowing much better then Koranu believed. "And the last option?"  
  
"We create an energy ball that can wonder the corridors of the caverns and imprint in our minds what the lay out is. The advantage is it'd be pretty fast and we wouldn't have to memorize the layout since it'd already be in our heads. The disadvantages are people with strong abilities could see the energy ball, and it'd also take a good deal of both of our power to create it."  
  
"So what's better?" Kurama asked.  
  
"You tell me," Koranu grinned at him.  
  
The fox cocked his head to the side and thought for a moment. "Probably the energy ball."  
  
"Just what I would've chosen," she said, almost triumphant.  
  
"So when are we going to summon this energy ball?" he asked, turning back to the more serious points of the conversation.  
  
"Well, anytime you want, really," she shrugged.  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"If you're up to it, that'd be fine. The faster we make it, the quicker we know what we're up against."  
  
Moving his aching feet to a different position, Kurama diligently waited for instructions while Koranu pondered the situation.  
  
"Alright, I think I know the best way to do this," she told him, eyes glancing towards him.  
  
"Shoot," he told her.  
  
"You don't have to do anything, really. Just take my hand and don't struggle if I pull your energy."  
  
"I can do that," he told her, lifting his pale hand into her own.  
  
"I always knew you were incredible," she teased. "Now hold on just one moment, this may hurt a little."  
  
Suddenly, the world turned bright. It was the most incredible feeling, as though getting back from eye surgery and being able to see once again. All the colors had turned into bright neons, and the trees and the sky and themselves all appeared to be the brightest colors possible, so crystal and sparkling like everything was drawn in the brightest highlighter pens.  
  
And just for a second, everything seemed more alive then it had ever been. And then it was gone, and there was nothing, nothing at all, but black and death.  
  
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Hello everyone! I finally, after much hard work, have written another chapter! Thank you thank you! I know you're all so thrilled to have me back and working like a pack horse once again.  
  
Unfortunately, however, I'm still not completely over my writers block yet, and will not be back to updating twice a week. It'll probably be more like once every two weeks, but this week I can probably have another chapter up by Sunday, since I have time off for thanks giving.  
  
I've also been working on a comic for school, and between that, writing fanfiction, reading books, doing schoolwork, writing my novel, drawing, reading manga, watching anime, and everything else I love (or in the case of schoolwork, hate) to do.  
  
Talk soon and hope you all review!  
  
Dream Fox 


	21. Energy Run Rampant

Disclaimer: You know the drill  
  
Kurama was thrown into consciousness with a sudden jolt, as his eyes flew open in astonishment. His heart was racing like a rabbit's and his fingers tingled slightly with energy. He sat up slowly, wincing at the headache that was quickly forming.  
  
Koranu was sitting beside him, looking concerned. "Careful now, don't want you to faint or anything."  
  
"What happened?' he asked, holding his nursed head as he gently rubbed his fingers around his temples in circular motions. Taking control over his body, he slowed down his heart rate until it was back to normal, and allowed the energy that had been residing outside of his body back inside.  
  
Koranu winced slightly. "I pulled too much energy out of you and the lack of it was a shock to your system, throwing the entire thing completely out of control."  
  
"How'd you do that?" Kurama frowned slightly. "I thought you could tell how much energy I had by just looking."  
  
His teacher studied him carefully. "Your body was acting odd. No matter how much I kept taking out, it kept filling up, like a gas tank. So I kept taking it, and taking it, and suddenly, your body stopped refueling and I didn't have time to cut off the connection before I took a bit too much. I've never, ever seen someone who could refuel that energy so fast. It was almost like you weren't making more energy, but rather just pulling some out of secret tanks no one could see."  
  
'Shoot,' Kurama swore venomously. He had completely forgotten about his reserve energy he had tucked away long ago. It was an incredible ability and he was skeptical he could repeat it in human form if he tried. When the fox demon had become human, he had simply assumed that his reserves had disappeared along with his body.  
  
"Um, maybe I was drawing energy from the things around me, like the trees and stuff? Everything turned a lot brighter when you did that," Kurama stuttered, looking for an excuse.  
  
"It's possible," Koranu shrugged. "If you can do that subconsciously, you have an incredible knack for it. But that's something to puzzle for another day. Look at that."  
  
A faint ball hovered a foot off the ground a few feet away. It was an odd, multicolored thing, with Kurama and Koranu's energy mixing around in it like oil and water. "Will it work?" he asked her, eyeing it speculatively.  
  
His teacher shrugged. "I assume so. Haven't tested it yet, of course, did you right away, but it looks fine."  
  
"How does it work?"  
  
"Just command it to go somewhere and off it flies. Since it's got our energy in it, we can just sit back and watch the show. Try it," she encouraged.  
  
Closing his eyes, the fox demon imagined himself inside the ball, looking out, as he slowly slipped inside, something tickled in the back of his mind. What began as faint shadows turned into more solid objects until the world around the ball became more clear, enough so that he could recognize his and Koranu's own shapes a few feet away.  
  
Slipping back out of the ball of energy, he looked up at his teacher. "It's pretty blurry, but it's not bad," he told her.  
  
She shrugged. "It's only to be expected. It was a quick make and kind of a spur of the moment idea. We did it to get a rough idea of their caves only, not to spy."  
  
"Then it's alright," Kurama replied, standing up and brushing the back of his pants off. "When should we do it."  
  
"No time like the present," Koranu cried, clapping her hands together in resolution.  
  
The caves were seemingly endless. Kurama watched them as his physical body relaxed against the trunk of a tree. The colorful, now invisible, ball flew through the tight passages and small rooms like lightening, just fast enough for the fox demon to draw a map in his head. They ran into no demons, which surprised Kurama greatly, and triggered both relief as well as suspicion.  
  
When the real "film" was over, Kurama and Koranu allowed their energy in the ball to drift away into nothingness, dispersing the chi until the traces of their actions were completely gone.  
  
Keeping his eyes closed for an extra moment, the fox demon assessed their newly given information. Opening them, he turned to look at his teacher. "It won't be easy," he told her. "They've got tighter security then Fort Knox."  
  
"We knew that through," Koranu retorted. "We knew this wouldn't be easy from the start. Besides, they have virtually no guards. It wouldn't be very had to get them all in there and hunt them out one by one." She smiled viciously. "The dirt walls would even muffle their screams."  
  
"You're being too rash, Koranu," he told her, shaking his head at his teacher's antics. "These things take careful planning. We can't just run in there without knowing more information or at least a plan."  
  
The teacher eyed her student suspiciously. "Since when did you know so much about breaking and entering, Shuichi?"  
  
Kurama cursed inwardly at forgetting his new nature. It was so easy, to forget out here, working with another demon at the thing he did best with nothing to hold his humanity in place.  
  
"I've just got a natural knack for this sort of thing," he scoffed.  
  
Watching him carefully, she replied, "Perhaps, Shuichi. Perhaps."  
  
Hey adoring fans!  
  
I know, I know, it took me MONTHS to update, but I'm starting to get into fanfiction again, so there will probably be more things again soon. I'm thinking of starting a full metal alchemist one, or maybe wolf's rain. What do you guys think?  
  
I'm updating some other stuff tonight as well, so check out my other stories. Some our updated right now, but other's will be updated late this evening, so check tomorrow morning as well.  
  
Dream Fox 


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